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Gage,  Albert  Henry,  1878- 

Evangelism  of  youth 


J_ 

JUDSON  TRAINING  MANUALS 

FOR  THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  CHURCH 


EDITORS 

W.  EDWARD  RAFFETY,  Ph.  D. 
WILLIAM  E.  CHALMERS,  D.  D. 


\i«  VI   I  lurf 


EVANGE 
OF  YOUT 


By 
ALBERT  H/GAGE 

Director  of  Religious  Education 
The  Baptist  Executive  Council  of  Chicago 

Author  of 
"  How  to  Conduct  a  Church  Vacation  School ' 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON     PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


COPYRIGHT,    1922,   BY 

GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Sbcrbtary 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


DEDICATED 

TO 

MY   PARENTS 

IN    GRATEFUL   APPRECIATION 
OF    A    CHRISTIAN    HOME 


FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  one  in  a  series  of  texts  in  religious  educa- 
tion known  as  the  "  Judson  Training  Manuals  for  the 
School  of  the  Church." 

These  manuals  are  arranged  in  three  groups,  namely, 
general,  departmental,  and  parent-training.  The  general 
group  includes  vital  teaching,  story-telling,  church-school 
buildings,  expression  through  worship,  handwork,  com- 
munity service,  educational  leadership,  appreciation  of 
the  Bible,  and  kindred  worth-while  themes  in  the  field  of 
religious  education.  The  departmental  group  covers 
courses  for  every  department  of  the  school  of  the  church — 
Cradle  Roll,  Beginners',  Primary,  Junior,  etc.  The 
parent-training  manuals  emphasize  religion  in  the  home, 
and  the  necessity  of  training  for  the  God-given,  heaven- 
blessed  privilege  of  parenthood. 

It  is  the  aim  of  these  manuals  to  popularize  the  assured 
results  of  the  best  psychology  and  pedagogy,  and  to  make 
them  the  willing  and  efficient  servants  of  all  workers  in 
the  school  of  the  church. 

Both  the  editors  and  the  writers  want  these  books  "  to 
live  where  the  people  live,"  and  to  be  of  real  value  to 
those  forward-looking  folks  destined  to  be  the  leaders  in 
religious  education. 


Foreword 

To  this  end,  each  course  will  be:  (1)  simple  in  lan- 
guage; (2)  accurate  in  statement;  (3)  sound  in  psy- 
chology; (4)  vital  in  pedagogy;  (5)  concrete  in  treat- 
ment; (6)  practical  in  purpose;  and  (7)  spiritual  in  tone. 

For  many  years  Albert  H.  Gage,  the  author  of  this 
manual,  has  done  efficient  evangelistic  work  with  young 
people.  He  has  been  a  pastor  and  a  director  of  religious 
education  helping  pastors.  He  speaks  and  writes  "  as  one 
having  authority."  "  Evangelism  of  Youth  "  is  real  ex- 
perience, more  specifically  a  reel  of  the  author's  own  ex- 
perience, shot  through  and  through  with  good  educational 
theory  and  practise. 

The  book  carries  across  a  message  of  vital  importance 
to  pastors,  parents,  and  church  school  officers  and  teachers. 
It  is  a  plan-book  with  a  purpose,  high  and  holy. 

God  is  at  work  in  each  individual  life.  The  great  ques- 
tion is,  Will  we  help  or  hinder  him  ?  The  book  gives  intel- 
ligence and  direction  to  evangelistic  fervor  and  points  the 
way  to  the  regeneration  and  conservation  of  youth. 


PREFACE 


"  The  church  that  cannot  save  its  own  young  people  can- 
not hope  to  save  the  world."  In  these  words  of  Athearn 
we  have  stated  the  biggest  problem  of  the  local  church. 
Every  program  of  evangelism  must  include  youth.  Yet 
this  has  not  been  done  in  most  evangelistic  efforts.  Any 
adequate  program  of  evangelism  must  be  based  upon 
adequate  religious  instruction  and  must  be  supplemented 
by  thorough  training  in  Christian  ideals  and  service. 
Evangelism  and  education  belong  together.  One  cannot 
succeed  long  without  the  other. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  help  churches  and  par- 
ents win  youth  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Every  plan  and 
program  has  been  thoroughly  tested  in  actual  experience. 
There  are  several  churches  that  have  followed  quite 
closely  the  entire  program  as  outlined  in  this  book.  There 
is  an  increasing  number  of  pastors  and  Sunday  school 
teachers  who  are  catching  the  vision  of  an  education 
program  which  is  shot  through  with  the  spirit  of  evan- 
gelism. 

This  book  is  sent  out  with  the  hope  and  the  prayer  that 
pastors,  teachers,  and  parents  will  become  familiar  with 
the  Seasons  of  the  Soul,  that  they  will  understand  God's 


Preface 

way  of  dealing  with  youth,  and  that  they  will  plan  church 
and  home  life  so  as  to  cooperate  with  God  in  making 
Christian  the  youth  of  our  land. 

It  will  be  a  great  day  in  the  church  when  youth  with 
all  its  powers  and  possibilities  is  won  to  the  life  and 
service  of  Jesus  Christ. 


INTRODUCTION 

This  book  is  not  a  compilation  of  theories  concerning 
the  advent  of  child  life  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but 
is  a  chaste  and  beautiful  narration  of  actual  experiences 
in  the  awakening  of  the  soul  of  youth  to  the  realization 
of  spiritual  verities.  It  recognizes  the  fact  that  there 
are  Seasons  of  the  Soul,  times  when  the  soul  thrills  with 
a  mystic  quickening  which  makes  it  sensitive  to  the  touch 
of  God.  Like  the  seasons  in  nature,  they  cannot  be  com- 
manded, they  are  to  be  used,  and  they  may  be  missed 
altogether.  Students  of  child  life  and  development  have 
discovered  that  there  are  periods  of  unusual  susceptibility 
when  the  tentacles  of  the  mind  reach  out  in  every  direc- 
tion for  knowledge  and  the  soul  is  athirst  for  the  knowl- 
edge of  God.  It  is  as  natural  for  a  child  to  want  to 
know  about  its  heavenly  Father  as  to  know  about  its 
earthly  parent,  but  untaught  in  the  periods  when  it  is  so 
easy  to  learn,  self  dominates,  sin  creeps  in,  and  the 
tragedy  of  it  all  appears  as  the  soul  stands  on  the  threshold 
of  manhood  or  womanhood  a  stranger  to  its  Maker. 

Evangelism,  from  the  beginning,  has  been  the  procla- 
mation of  the  glad  news  of  redemption  from  sin,  the 
making  of  Jesus  Christ  known  as  the  soul's  Saviour. 


Introduction 


When  it  is  estimated  that  in  our  Sunday  schools  only 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  unite  with  the  church 
while  in  the  school  and  only  twenty  per  cent,  after  leaving 
the  school,  and  more  than  half  go  away  without  having 
accepted  Christ  as  Saviour,  it  becomes  of  utmost  impor- 
tance that  there  should  be  most  careful  proclamation  of 
this  gospel  in  such  a  way  as  to  appeal  to  young  life — 
"  Evangelism  of  Youth."  The  vital  relating  of  the  soul 
with  its  Saviour  should  be  the  constant  purpose  of  the 
Sunday  school,  and  its  atmosphere  ought  to  be  such  that 
it  would  not  seem  impossible  at  any  time  to  conduct  a 
decision  hour,  but  special  days  ought  to  be  arranged  for 
an  ingathering-time  when  harvests  from  careful  seed- 
sowing  might  naturally  be  expected. 

We  have  come  to  a  new  day  when  religious  education 
and  evangelism  go  hand  in  hand.  Religion  is,  however, 
more  than  the  imparting  of  facts,  and  Christianity  is 
more  than  the  learning  of  the  story  of  Christ  and  his 
times.  Two  factors  constantly  stand  out  in  the  teacher's 
task:  the  instruction  which  imparts  information  about 
Christ  and  the  constant  effort  to  awaken  to  action  the 
desire  of  the  soul  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  and 
Master. 

There  is  nothing  in  history  so  winsome  as  Jesus.  He 
has  been,  and  still  is,  the  world's  great  attraction.  To  all 
who  have  contacts  with  young  life  is  given  the  privilege 
of  making  Christ  known.     This  is  not  so  really  accom- 


Introduction 


plished  in  any  public  spectacular  way  as  by  the  attractive 
power  of  consecrated  personality :  "  In  him  was  life,  and 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men." 

Just  how  best  to  evoke  an  expression  of  this  supreme 
choice,  and  what  best  to  do  after  it  has  been  made  are 
admirably  treated  by  the  author  in  his  discussion  of 
Decision  Day  and  the  Pastor's  Training-classes. 

For  sane,  practical  methods  dealing  with  the  spiritual 
life  of  young  people  nothing  has  come  under  my  ob- 
servation that  approaches  the  wholesome  suggestiveness 
of  this  little  volume.  The  author  has  embodied  in  it  the 
actual  experiences  of  years  of  successful  working  with  the 
plans  herein  outlined,  and  the  whole  treatment  is  shot 
through  with  a  flaming  passion  to  see  the  souls  of  the 
young  folks  surrendered  and  dedicated  to  the  service  of 
their  Lord. 

The  advent  of  these  chapters  in  this  form  is  most  oppor- 
tune, when  the  facts  of  child  conversion  are  receiving  so 
great  emphasis.  They  ought  to  be  welcomed  by  thou- 
sands of  pastors  and  Sunday  school  workers  who  are 
interested  in  turning  the  faces  of  the  young  toward  God. 

H.  F.  Stilwell, 

Gen' I  Supt.  of  Evangelism, 
The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Adopting  a  Plan  1 

II.  Seasons  of  the  Soul 9 

III.  Creating  an  Evangelistic  Atmosphere  . .  24 

IV.  The  Holy  Spirit  as  Helper    32 

V.  The  Attractive  Christ   41 

VI.  Personal  Work  for  Souls 50 

VII.  Decision  Day   63 

VIII.  Pastor's  Training-classes  81 

IX.  A  Religious  Education  Campaign   97 

X.  Religion  in  the  Home  Ill 


CHAPTER  I 
ADOPTING  A  PLAN 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Evans  and  the  Advisory  Board  of 
the  Freetown  Church  had  met  for  their  regular  monthly- 
meeting.  The  special  topic  for  consideration  was  "  The 
Evangelistic  Campaign  in  Our  Church."  Each  man  felt 
keenly  the  importance  of  the  topic.  They  all  prayed  for 
Divine  guidance. 

There  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  best  method 
to  recommend  to  their  church  for  the  present  year. 
Deacon  Jones  proposed  that  they  secure  a  well-known 
evangelist  and  hold  three  weeks  of  revival  services. 
Deacon  Lovejoy  suggested  that  cooperation  be  secured 
with  the  other  churches  of  the  community  in  a  united 
campaign,  inviting  a  certain  evangelistic  party  to  hold  a 
series  of  meetings  in  a  tabernacle.  Mr.  Howard,  the 
church  clerk,  said,  "  I  think  that  the  best  way  is  for  our 
church  to  do  its  own  work  of  soul-winning,  using  the 
regular  services  of  the  church  and  the  regular  organiza- 
tions with  an  evangelistic  aim  in  and  through  them  all." 
Mrs.  Read,  President  of  the  Woman's  Society,  suggested 
that  their  own  pastor  be  requested  to  hold  two  weeks  of 
special  meetings  in  their  own  church,  and  that  every 
officer  pledge  him  hearty  cooperation. 

Mr.  Richards,  the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  said : 
"  Our  Sunday  school  is  our  greatest  field  for  evangelism. 
In  recent  years  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  all  who  have  joined 

1 


Evangelism  of  Youth 


our  church  upon  confession  of  faith  have  come  from  the 
Sunday  school.  Whatever  plans  are  adopted  by  this 
church,  we  should  not  forget  the  Sunday  school." 

Mr.  Witter,  president  of  the  young  people's  society, 
commended  the  statement  of  the  superintendent,  and  re- 
minded the  members  of  the  Board  that  his  society  was 
taking  a  course  in  personal  work,  that  many  of  the  mem- 
bers were  teaching  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  that  the 
young  people  were  already  studying  and  planning  and 
praying  that  they  might  win  other  young  people  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

All  now  turned  to  the  pastor  who  up  to  this  time  had 
listened  carefully  but  had  said  nothing.  *'  I  too,"  he  said, 
"  have  felt  the  burden  for  souls.  There  are  many  in  our 
congregation  and  many  more  in  our  community  who 
ought  to  be  won  for  Christ.  I  have  prayed  much  about 
this.  I  believe  this  meeting  tonight  is  in  answer  to 
prayer.  It  encourages  me  to  see  your  interest  in  evan- 
gelism and  to  know  that  you  have  been  thinking  of  ways 
in  which  our  church  can  best  win  others.  I  have  listened 
carefully  to  the  various  plans  which  have  been  proposed. 
In  one  thing  we  are  all  agreed.  Our  church  should  at- 
tempt something  very  definite  in  the  way  of  evangelism. 
I  could  speak  of  the  advantages  of  each  plan  proposed. 
Each  has  its  advantage  and  has  proved  its  worth  in  many 
places,  and  in  all  kinds  of  churches.  I  wish,  however,  to 
propose  a  plan  which  we  have  never  tried,  but  which  I 
believe  is  the  best  plan  for  our  church  this  year — *"  The 
Evangelism  of  Youth/  " 

"  That  sounds  interesting,"  said  Mr.  True,  one  of  the 
trustees,  "  explain  to  us." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  so,"  replied  the  pastor. 


Adopting  a  Plan 


"  I  was  won  to  Christ  when  a  lad  of  thirteen.  The 
church  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  the  young  people 
who  took  their  stand  for  Christ  at  this  time.  Indeed,  I 
have  since  learned  that  the  church  considered  that  series 
of  meetings  a  failure  because  only  eight  boys  and  girls 
were  converted.  I  became  a  member  of  the  church  as 
a  matter  of  course,  without  any  special  training.  There 
was  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  but  it  did  not  interest 
itself  at  first  in  the  young  converts.  All  through  my  boy- 
hood and  young  manhood  the  church  made  little  effort  to 
train  or  use  young  people.  When  I  was  in  my  sixteenth 
year  I  was  elected  president  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society.  I  did  not  know  how  to  conduct  such  a  society. 
One  good  woman  was  always  ready  to  encourage  and 
help.  The  training  which  I  received  in  this  society  did 
much  to  turn  my  thoughts  to  Christian  work.  I  had 
ideas  as  to  how  my  church  ought  to  be  run.  They  never 
asked  me  for  them.  Nor  would  they  have  followed  them 
had  they  asked  me,  but  had  they  asked  me  and  had  they 
followed  my  suggestions  they  would  have  had  a  better 
church.     I  was  sure  of  it  then. 

"  In  college  and  seminary  there  were  no  courses  in 
child  psychology,  in  religious  pedagogy,  or  in  anything 
that  would  help  in  work  with  boys  and  girls  or  young 
people.  In  fact  the  whole  course  of  instruction  was 
largely  from  the  adult  point  of  view.  In  my  junior  year 
in  college  I  preached  for  a  little  country  church  during 
the  summer  vacation.  I  was  asked  to  become  superin- 
tendent of  an  afternoon  Sunday  school  in  a  neighboring 
town.  This  school  was  a  great  success.  I  began  to  be 
interested  in  Sunday  school  work.  During  my  senior 
year  in  college  I  became  a  student  pastor.     My  church 


Evangelism  of  Youth 


was  the  only  church  in  a  fine  farming  community.  There 
were  many  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  in  this  com- 
munity. The  church  had  never  served  them.  We  or- 
ganized a  young  people's  society  and  began  to  develop 
these  young  people.  In  this  way  I  became  interested  in 
young  people's  work. 

"  While  I  was  in  the  theological  seminary,  I  went  to 
New  York  City  for  two  summers  to  act  as  a  principal 
of  a  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School.  In  these  schools  I 
came  into  contact,  for  the  first  time,  with  those  who  loved 
boys  and  girls,  who  knew  the  laws  which  governed  their 
development,  and  who  knew  how  to  adapt  a  religious 
program  to  their  needs.  I  was  interested,  and  began 
reading  books  and  trying  out  experiments  in  Christian 
work  with  young  people.  When  I  became  a  pastor  I 
began  to  specialize  in  work  for  boys  and  girls  and  young 
people.  You  know  of  my  interest  in  this  church  in  the 
Sunday  school,  the  young  people's  society,  the  intermedi- 
ates, the  juniors,  and  the  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School.  I 
have  given  much  time,  thought,  and  effort  to  every  phase 
of  this  work.  You  know  that  we  have  already  received 
many  young  people  into  our  church.  You  know  that 
many  fathers  and  mothers  have  joined  our  church  be- 
cause of  our  interest  in  their  children.  In  my  study  and 
out  of  my  own  experience,  I  am  convinced  that  true  evan- 
gelism gives  a  large  place  to  the  education,  the  winning, 
and  the  training  of  boys  and  girls  and  young  people." 

"Pastor,'*  said  Mr.  David,  one  of  the  prominent  lay- 
men, *'  we  agree  with  you  in  your  emphasis  upon  winning 
people  to  Christ  in  their  youth.  You  have  evidently  given 
much  thought  to  this.  What  plans  have  you  to  suggest 
for  our  church  ?  '* 


Adopting  a  Plan 


"  In  the  first  place,"  said  the  pastor,  **  we  ought  to  be- 
come familiar  with  the  *  laws  of  the  Spirit '  in  the  lives 
of  young  people.  If  we  understand  these  laws  we  will  be 
working  in  harmony  with  God  and  will  be  able  to  accom- 
plish wonderful  things.  There  are  definite  *  Seasons  of  ,^ 
the  Soul ' — times  when  the  heart  is  more  sensitive  to  the 
touch  of  the  Spirit — times  when  the  voice  of  God  is  heard 
more  distinctly.  We  should  know  these  seasons  and  work 
with  God  in  his  times." 

"  This  is  a  new  idea  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Parker,  a  teacher 
of  teen-age  girls.    "  I  want  to  know  more  about  it." 

"  I  shall  be  glad,"  replied  the  pastor,  "  to  explain  this 
at  a  later  meeting  to  which  we  shall  invite  all  our  Sunday 
school  teachers  and  officers  and  all  members  of  our  church 
interested  in  young  people.  When  we  understand  these 
Seasons  of  the  Soul,"  he  continued,  "  we  shall  know  better 
how  to  work  with  God  in  winning  souls  for  his  kingdom. 
Then  we  should  plan  to  develop  a  warm,  loving  Christian 
atmosphere  in  our  church;  we  should  seek  to  win  others 
as  Jesus  did  through  personal  work;  we  should  welcome 
our  Divine  Helper — ^the  Holy  Spirit;  we  will  plan  and 
prepare  for  a  Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday  school;  we 
will  carefully  train  all  new  converts;  we  will  make  such 
adjustments  in  our  church  life  as  may  be  necessary  be- 
cause of  the  coming  into  our  membership  of  new-born 
Christians ;  and  we  will  not  forget  to  seek  the  cooperation 
of  the  parents  in  developing  Christian  character  in  the 
home." 

"  I  do  not  know  about  this  new-fashioned  way  of  win- 
ning people  to  Christ,"  said  Deacon  Smith.  "  We  have 
never  done  it  that  way  before.  I  think  we  ought  to  go 
pretty  slow." 


Evangelism  of  Youth 


"  I  agree  with  Deacon  Smith,"  said  Mr.  Miller.  "  I 
do  not  think  much  of  getting  a  lot  of  boys  and  girls  into 
the  church.  What  we  need  is  men.  Anybody  can  win 
children;  but  we  need  some  one  to  get  hold  of  the  men 
who  have  money  and  influence." 

"  There  is  another  objection/'  said  good  old  Deacon 
True.  "  I  do  not  believe  we  can  educate  people  into  the 
kingdom.     I  believe  in  old-fashioned  conversion." 

"  It  is  well  for  us  to  face  objections  frankly,"  said  the 
pastor.  "  I  can  understand  Mr.  Smith's  objection. 
Although  it  is  a  new  method  for  this  church,  it  has  been 
tried  successfully  by  many  of  our  best  churches.  I  have 
followed  this  method  for  several  years  in  my  former 
churches.  It  is  not  so  easy  as  Mr.  Miller  thinks  really  to 
win  children  into  the  Christian  life.  It  may  be  easy  to 
get  an  emotional  reaction  in  some  service,  but  to  take  a 
child  and  strengthen  this  decision  and  to  help  him  pro- 
duce a  strong  Christian  character  is  a  task  which  requires 
the  greatest  skill  and  consecration.  We  cannot  educate 
people  into  the  kingdom,  as  Mr.  True  says.  Neither  can 
we  win  to  Christ  unless  people  know  who  Christ  is  and 
that  which  he  will  do.  There  can  be  no  intelligent  de- 
cision for  Christ  without  education,  and  one  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  our  former  methods  of  evangelism  is  that  there 
has  been  no  definite  training  of  young  Christians.  Edu- 
cation and  evangelism  go  together.  Neither  can  succeed 
without  the  other." 

Mr.  Richards,  the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  said : 
"  The  plan  proposed  by  Pastor  Evans  seems  to  me  most 
reasonable  and  gives  promise  of  good  results.  I  believe 
we  ought  to  follow  it  for  this  year.  We  have  met  to- 
gether to  form  a  plan  of  evangelism.     We  could  not  agree 


Adopting  a  Plan 


on  any  of  the  other  types  of  evangeHsm.  We  asked  our 
pastor  for  his  plan.  He  has  given  it  to  us.  Our  pastor 
is  our  leader.  I  believe  in  following  his  leadership.  I 
move,  therefore,  that  we  recommend  to  the  church  for 
this  year  '  A  Campaign  of  Evangelism  of  Youth.' " 
Several  seconded  the  motion,  and  after  some  further  dis- 
cussion it  was  unanimously  carried. 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  Describe  a  revival  service  in  which  you  have  partici- 
pated. What  were  the  results?  What  are  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  type  of  meeting?     Disadvantages? 

2.  What  are  the  advantages  of  union  meetings  ? 

3.  How  would  you  organize  a  community  for  tabernacle 
meetings  ? 

4.  Think  of  the  ordinary  evangelistic  meetings ;  to  whom 
was  the  appeal  made — adults?  young  people?  or 
children  ? 

5.  What  is  educational  evangelism? 

6.  What  is  social  evangelism? 

7.  What  is  the  Lowell  plan? 

8.  What  methods  were  employed  by  the  various 
churches  of  which  you  have  been  a  member  to  win 
people  to  Christ? 

9.  Tell  the  story  of  your  own  acceptance  of  Christ. 

10.  What  training  did  you  receive  for  church-member- 
ship? 

11.  At  what  age  were  you  most  interested  in  the  young 
people's  society? 

12.  Did  you  have  ideas  in  your  youth  about  improving 
your  home  church?    What  were  they? 


8  Evangelism  of  Youth 

REFERENCES 

\/  ^^.^     "  Educational  Evangelism,"  McKinley. 
"  Social  Evangelism/'  Ward. 
"  Constructive  Evangelism/'  Bill. 
"  The  Lowell  Plan/'  American  Baptist  Home  Mission 
Society. 


CHAPTER  II 
SEASONS  OF  THE  SOUL 

There  was  a  large  attendance  at  the  midweek  meeting. 
The  church  officers  had  invited  by  letters  and  by  tele- 
phone many  members  who  did  not  ordinarily  attend. 
Mr.  Richards,  the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  had 
personally  invited  every  one  of  his  officers  and  teachers. 
Mr.  Witter,  president  of  the  young  people's  society,  had 
enlisted  the  interest  of  all  his  officers  and  a  large  number 
of  young  people.  There  was  a  spirit  of  expectancy. 
After  a  brief  period  of  worship  during  which  it  seemed 
as  if  God's  Spirit  was  indeed  present  with  his  people, 
the  pastor  told  the  story  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  ad- 
visory board,  and  that  he  had  been  asked  to  give  the 
whole  church  the  results  of  his  studies  and  experiences 
in  the  spiritual  laws  governing  the  unfolding  life  of  boys 
and  girls  and  young  people.     He  spoke  as  follows : 

Seasons  of  the  Soul 

"  There  are  definite  Seusons  of  the  Soul — just  as  truly 
as  there  are  seasons  of  the  year.  The  farmer  or  the 
gardener  who  disregards  the  seasons  will  never  succeed. 
There  is  a  time  to  plow  and  a  time  to  sow,  a  time  to 
cultivate  and  a  time  to  reap.  If,  for  instance,  a  man  dis- 
regards these  seasons  and  puts  his  own  ideas  ahead  of 
God's  laws  in  nature,  he  will  fail.  If  a  farmer  works 
behind  God  in  his  seasons  he  may  work  very  hard,  but  his 

9 


10  Evangelism  of  Youth 

harvest  will  be  small.  I  once  knew  a  farmer  who  worked 
from  early  morning  until  late  at  night.  His  farm  was 
naturally  a  fertile  one,  but  he  was  always  about  a  month 
behind  with  his  work.  When  others  were  tapping  their 
sugar-bush,  he  was  getting  out  his  winter's  wood;  when 
they  were  plowing  he  was  tapping  his  sugar-bush ;  when 
they  were  sowing  he  was  beginning  to  plow.  The  result 
was,  that,  though  he  worked  hard  and  though  his  farm 
was  fertile,  he  failed  because  he  ignored  God's  seasons. 
Because  of  this  his  crops  did  not  get  good  root  before 
the  drouth  of  summer;  or  if  they  escaped  a  drouth,  an 
early  frost  would  catch  them.  Only  occasionally  would 
he  have  a  good  harvest. 

"  Thus  it  has  been  with  much  evangelistic  effort.  God 
intends  that  we  should  win  people  in  their  youth.  Then 
their  hearts  are  tender  and  sensitive.  Then  they  are  re- 
ligious and  often  ready  and  eager  for  entrance  into  the 
spiritual  life.  But  we  let  the  springtime  of  life  pass, 
and  then  try  by  some  great  effort  to  create  religious  im- 
pressions and  win  to  Christ.  We  work  hard,  we  spend 
thousands  of  dollars,  and,  at  the  best,  get  disappointingly 
small  returns.  The  reason  is  very  apparent.  We  have 
waited  too  long.  We  let  the  springtime  of  life  go  by  and 
then  tr>'  by  our  own  supreme  efforts  to  make  up  for  our 
delay.  That  which  we  should  do  is  to  work  with  God  in 
his  seasons.  Then  shall  we  have  a  golden  harvest  of 
precious  souls. 

A/anp  Children  Become  Christians 

"  Out  of  my  own  experience,  I  have  known  for  a  long 
time  that  God  does  save  boys  and  girls.  From  my  study 
of  the  Bible,  I  learn  that  Samuel  heard  God  call  him  when 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  11 

a  little  child;  that  Jesus  had  a  wonderful  religious 
awakening  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  and  that 
Timothy  knew  the  Scriptures  from  his  mother  and  grand- 
mother even  from  early  childhood.  My  observation  of 
revival  services  shows  that  many  children  and  young  peo- 
ple respond  to  the  appeal  of  the  evangelist. 

A  Surve})  of  Sunday  School  Officers  and  Teachers 

"  I  have  made  a  survey  of  the  officers  and  teachers  in 
thirty-four  Sunday  schools.  I  chose  typical  schools — 
large  and  small;  foreign-speaking  and  English;  some  in 
the  city  and  others  in  the  country;  some  colored  and 
others  white.  You  will  all  agree  that  the  Sunday  school 
officers  and  teachers  are  usually  the  very  best  people  in 
the  churches,  the  very  heart  of  the  spiritual  life.  I  found 
this  most  significant  fact,  that  sixty  per  cent,  of  them 
accepted  Christ  and  became  members  of  the  church  before 
their  thirteenth  birthday.  Whenever  any  one  tells  you 
that  boys  and  girls  '  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing ' 
and  *  will  not  hold  out,'  remind  them  that  the  majority  of 
Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers  accepted  Christ  when 
they  were  very  young  and  that  they  have  continued  in  the 
Christian  way  and  have  grown  in  the  Christian  life.  I 
found  also  from  this  survey  that  around  the  fifteenth  year 
a  large  number  accepted  Christ,  and  many,  who  had  be- 
come Christians  earlier,  took  an  advance  step  in  their 
Christian  life.  I  found  that  a  smaller  number,  and  yet 
quite  a  good  many,  became  Christians  around  their 
nineteenth  year,  and  that  only  one  out  of  ten  ever 
became  Christians  after  they  had  passed  their  twen- 
tieth year. 

"  Dr.  F.  F.  Peterson,  the  Director  of  Religious  Edu- 


12  Evangelism  of  Youth 


cation  for  the  Baptist  Churches  of  Massachusetts,  has 
had  a  remarkable  experience  in  securing  decisions  for 
Christ  in  Sunday  schools.  He  has  the  complete  records 
of  thirteen  hundred  thirty-nine  (1339)  decisions.  In  his 
work  he  has  followed  through  a  series  of  years  each  per- 
son who  has  made  a  decision.  It  is  significant  to  note  that 
seventy-eight  per  cent,  of  these  decisions  are  between  the 
ages  of  ten  and  sixteen.    His  conclusion  is  this : 

Win  for  Christ  in  the  Grammar  School. 

Secure  Life  Service  Decisions  in  the  High  School. 

Train  for  Life  Service  in  College. 

The  Fourfold  Life.  "  These  facts  have  powerfully  in- 
fluenced my  thinking  and  study  on  this  whole  question  of 
the  religious  life  of  youth.  I  find  that  the  religious  de- 
velopment of  youth  is  very  closely  identified  with  the 
physical,  social,  and  intellectual  expansion  of  life.  In 
other  words,  that  the  statement  of  the  development  of 
Jesus  is  absolutely  correct,  when  it  is  said  of  him 
*  that  he  advanced  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor 
with  God  and  man.'  God's  plan  calls  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fourfold  life — mental  (in  wisdom),  physical 
(in  stature),  religious  (in  favor  with  God),  social  (in 
favor  with  man).  Now  for  us  to  wait  until  man  has 
reached  his  full  development  in  body,  in  mind,  and 
socially  before  introducing  the  spiritual  is  fundamentally 
wrong. 

Development  not  Uniform.  "  Again  our  study  of  the 
developing  life  shows  that  life  does  not  go  steadily  up, 
nor  steadily  down.  All  life  is  in  rhythm.  It  is  like  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide.     There  are  periods  in  youth 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  13 

when  the  soul  is  more  sensitive  than  others.  These 
periods  are  quite  well  defined.  Of  course,  every  single 
child  does  not  fit  arbitrarily  into  any  scheme.  Some  chil- 
dren develop  early,  some  late,  and  some  never  go  beyond 
a  ten-  or  twelve-year  stage  of  development.  Girls  usually 
develop  faster  than  boys,  so  that  a  fourteen-year-old  girl 
is  quite  likely  to  be  two  years  older  than  a  boy  of  corre- 
sponding age. 

\y  Periods  of  Religious  Interest 

"The  periods  of  youth  when  the  soul  is  most  sensitive  to 
the  voice  of  God,  are:  (1)  About  nine  or  ten  years 
of  age;  (2)  about  twelve  or  thirteen;  (3)  about  fifteen 
or  sixteen ;  (4)  about  eighteen  or  nineteen.  At  these  high 
points  we  do  not  have  to  create  religious  interest,  it  is 
already  there.  We  simply  recognize  it  and  make  our 
approach  and  develop  our  program  accordingly.  The 
problem  is  not  to  get  our  young  people  to  think  about 
the  questions  of  personal  religion,  for  these  they  realize ; 
but  so  to  direct  their  thinking  that  it  shall  result  in  habits 
of  life  and  in  personal  allegiances  that  shall  forever  tie 
the  life  to  Christ. 

The  Nine  Year  Old 

"  The  child  who  has  good  home  training,  where  there  is 
a  natural  and  loving  Christian  atmosphere,  and  who  has 
had  the  advantage  of  a  good,  well-graded,  spiritual  Sun- 
day school,  very  often  makes  a  simple  definite  decision 
for  Christ  around  the  ninth  or  tenth  year.  This  should 
never  be  forced,  but  when  it  comes  simply  and  naturally 
should  be  treasured.  It  is  like  the  first  flowers  of  spring, 
blossoming  on  a  warm  sunny  bank. 


14  Evangelism  of  Youth 


The  Tivelve  Year  Old 

"  The  next  point  of  deep  interest  is  around  the  twelfth 
year.  Indeed,  every  boy  and  girl  around  the  twelfth 
year  is  deeply  religious.  They  have  that  religious  inter- 
est which  makes  it  easy  to  win  to  Christ  and  his  way  of 
living.  This  is  the  golden  hour  for  all  religious  workers. 
Was  not  Jesus  twelve  years  old  when  he  went  up  to  the 
temple?  A  boy  was  right  and  genuine  when  he  came 
before  a  board  of  deacons  with  this  statement :  *  When 
Jesus  was  twelve  years  old  he  made  up  his  mind  to  help 
God.  I  am  twelve  years  old.  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  help  God.' 

"  There  are  many  parents  who  do  not  understand  and 
are  as  puzzled  as  was  Mary  over  the  religious  interest 
of  their  boy  or  their  girl.  So  too  there  are  many  relig- 
ious teachers  like  Eli  who  have  lost  their  sensitive  heart 
and  do  not  perceive  that  God  is  calling  the  child.  It  took 
three  visits  of  the  boy  Samuel  to  Eli  before  the  old 
teacher  perceived  that  Jehovah  was  calling.  The  boy's 
heart  was  three  times  as  sensitive  to  religious  impressions 
as  that  of  the  old  man.  It  was  so  then.  It  has  always 
been  that  way.  It  is  true  today.  But  Samuel  with  the 
^  sensitive  heart  needed  an  Eli  to  explain  to  him  that  it  was 
God.  Twice  fortunate  is  the  boy  or  the  girl,  twelve  years 
old,  who,  hearing  the  voice  of  God,  has  a  father  or 
mother,  a  Sunday  school  teacher  or  a  pastor,  to  explain 
that  it  is  God  who  is  calling. 

Christianising  the  Body.  "  There  is  a  reason  why  God 
touches  the  child's  heart  with  religious  interest  at  this 
time.  The  boy  or  the  girl  soon  passes  from  boyhood  to 
manhood,  from  girlhood  to  womanhood.     It  is  a  time  of 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  15 

great  expansion  of  life.  A  time  when  there  is  growth  of 
body,  of  mind  and  of  soul — a  time  when  the  forces  of 
evil  are  strong — a  time  of  storm  and  stress.  Soon  the 
boy  comes  into  possession  of  a  grown-up  body  with  all 
the  powers  and  passions  of  an  adult.  These  emotions 
are  not  understood,  these  powers  are  not  yet  under  con- 
trol. It  is  the  time  in  a  boy's  or  girl's  life  least  under- 
stood, and  yet  a  time  when  true  friendship,  understand- " 
ing,  love,  and  patience  are  needed  as  never  before.  This 
is  a  time  when  the  ideals  of  Jesus,  the  strength  of  God, 
and  the  purifying  influence  of  religion  and  home  are 
needed.  So  God  lets  the  soul  expand  before  the  body 
begins  its  rapid  growth.  As  the  first  sign  of  expanding 
life  comes  this  religious  interest. 

"  Parents  and  teachers,  do  you  not  see  God's  wonder- 
ful plan?  It  is  as  plain  as  A  B  C.  God  gives  every 
boy  and  girl  this  religious  awakening  just  before  the 
physical  awakening  because  he  wants  to  Christianize  the^^ 
body.  He  wants  that  boy  and  that  girl  to  have  a  body 
that  shall,  indeed,  be  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He 
wants  the  physical  habits  of  life  Christian.  If  we  were 
doing  our  work,  in  our  homes  and  in  our  church,  as  we 
ought  to  do  it,  we  would  win  all  our  boys  and  girls  in  this 
wonderful  period  of  soul-expansion.  I  once  visited  a 
mother  whose  boy  of  twelve  had  accepted  Jesus  as  his 
personal  Saviour  and  who  wanted  to  join  our  church. 
She  refused  to  give  her  permission,  saying  that  he  was 
too  young  and  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.  I  ex- 
plained to  her  God's  wonderful  plan  and  provision  for 
safeguarding  the  health  and  virtue  of  her  son.  When  I 
had  finished  she  wiped  her  tears  and  said :  *  My  boy  can 
go  into  the  church.     I  did  not  know  this  wonderful  truth. 


16  Evangelism  of  Youth 

How  near  I  came  to  blocking  God  in  his  plan  for  my  boy. 
Pastor,  I  can  never  thank  you  enough/ 

"  There  is  a  law  of  life  that  an  instinct  when  it  first 
develops,  if  not  used,  dies.  If  used,  it  becomes  a  habit 
and  a  permanent  part  of  life.  So  this  religious  awaken- 
ing, if  not  used,  dies.  If  used,  it  develops  into  a  beauti- 
ful Christian  life.  The  most  powerful  appeal  to  a  twelve- 
year-old  boy  is  this :  '  Jack,  accept  Jesus  as  your  own 
personal  Saviour  and  Lord.  This  is  the  right  thing  for 
you  to  do.' 

"  Notice  that  this  religious  interest  around  the  twelfth 
year  is  usually  followed  by  a  period  of  temporary  re- 
ligious decline.  There  is  a  reason  for  this.  If  we  ask, 
*  What  is  God  doing  to  our  boys  and  girls  during  the 
ages  thirteen  and  fourteen  ?  '  it  is  very  evident.  He  is 
concerned  during  this  period  most  of  all  in  the  physical, 
in  giving  them  a  body  with  all  its  powers  and  functions. 
Religion,  social  life,  and  school  all  take  second  place  to 
God's  primary  object.  If,  therefore,  we  are  to  work 
with  God  we  will  be  concerned  most  of  all  that  our  boys 
and  girls  get  good,  strong,  clean,  healthy  bodies,  the  laws 
of  which  they  know  and  the  powers  and  passions  of 
which  they  fully  control.  We  must  not  force  our  boys 
and  girls  in  their  schooling.  What  good  is  first  place  in 
the  class  with  a  weakened  body?  We  will  not  force 
social  life  and  make  it  unnatural  and  distasteful.  We 
V  will  not  force  religion  until  youth  revolts.  Rather  will 
we  work  with  God  in  his  processes  and  wait  patiently 
until  the  religious  life  again  comes  to  the  front.  Every 
boy  and  girl  in  this  period  needs  strong,  wholesome 
Christian  leadership.  They  are  interested  in  religion, 
but  religion  is  not  the  primary  interest. 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  17 

The  Fifteenth  Year 

**  The  next  period  of  deep  religious  interest  is  around 
the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  year.  From  my  study  and  from 
my  own  experience  and  from  my  wide  observation,  I  have 
come  to  the  profound  conviction  that  every  young  man 
and  young  woman  around  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  year  . 
is  genuinely  religious.  It  may  not  be  evident  to  the  care- 
less observer  or  to  the  unsympathetic  heart,  for  it  may 
not  take  the  form  prescribed  by  adults  for  religious  ex- 
perience. Only  those  who  know  and  love  young  people 
may  ever  find  it,  but  it  is  there  awaiting  discovery  and 
development. 

The  Social  Awakening.  "  There  is  a  reason  for  this 
religious  awakening  as  surely  as  there  was  in  the  earlier 
period,  but  it  is  not  the  same  reason.  The  physical  is  no^ 
longer  the  dominant  factor  in  life.  The  body  with  its  '' 
functions  is  now  fairly  well  established.  It  is  true  that 
there  will  be  slow  growth  for  several  years.  But  the 
physical  is  not  the  thing  in  which  God  is  most  interested 
during  this  time.  Following  the  physical  development  is 
the  period  of  social  awakening.  The  boy  who  did  not 
care  whether  his  shoes  were  blacked  or  his  face  washed, 
now  spends  much  time  combing  his  hair,  polishing  his 
shoes,  and  with  his  personal  appearance.  Why?  The 
girl  who  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  rough,  horrid 
boys  now  spends  much  time  before  the  looking-glass  and 
over  her  clothes.  Why  ?  John  has  discovered  Mary,  and 
Mary  is  delighted  with  the  discovery.  In  other  words, 
the  boys  are  greatly  interested  in  the  girls  and  the  girls  in 
the  boys.  If  any  one  doubts  this  let  him  listen  to  the 
conversation  of  high  school  students. 


18  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Life  Choices  MiZdc  Early,  "Just  before  this  social 
awakening  and  accompanj-ing  it  there  is  a  decided  re- 
ligious interest.  This  interest  does  not  need  to  be  cre- 
ated ;  it  is  already  there  to  be  used  and  developed.  This 
is  the  time  when  many  conversions  occur.  This  is  the 
period  when  those  who  began  the  Qiristian  life  at  an 
earlier  age  often  reconsecrate  themselves  and  take  a  for- 
ward step  for  Christ.  This  is  the  age  when  sympathies 
are  broadened  and  love  and  altruism  waken.  This  is  the 
time  when  life's  choices  are  often  made. 

Christianizing  the  Social  Order.  *'  The  reason  for  this 
religious  interest  is  just  as  apparent  as  in  the  earlier 
periods,  but  the  reason  is  not  the  same.  God  is  now  in- 
terested in  dezrloping  the  social  life;  in  teaching  young 
people  to  live*  together.  Accordingly  he  puts  the  relig- 
ious interest  into  this  new  experience  for  the  purpose  of 
Christianizing  the  social  order.  He  wants  young  people 
to  learn  to  live  together  in  the  Christian  way.  God  wants 
their  social  habits  Christian.  Young  people  are  lovers  of 
pleasure,  but  chiefly  pleasure  where  young  men  and  young 
women  are  together.  There  are  great  possibilities  for 
good  in  this.  There  are  infinite  possibilities  for  evil. 
God  has  put  the  religious  interest  prominent.  If  this 
interest  is  used  and  conserved,  young  people  develop 
Christian  habits  of  social  life.  If  neglected,  this  religious 
interest  dies,  and  we  have  a  social  order  uncontrolled  by 
tbe  highest  and  best  in  human  life,  a  condition  where  self- 
ishness rules  and  ruins  the  lives  of  men. 

A  Period  for  Reconsec ration.  "If  we  have  failed  to 
win  for  Christ  in  the  earlier  period,  we  have  this  second 
golden  opportunit}'.  This  is  the  time  of  all  times  to 
secure  decisions  for  Christ.      If  a  boy  or  girl  has  ac- 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  19 

cepted  Christ  earlier  this  is  the  time  for  reconsecra- 
tion  and  an  advance  step  in  Christian  living.  In  this 
period  occur  most  decisions  for  the  ministry,  teaching, 
and  missionary  work  and  many  other  vocations  worth 
while. 

Three  Natural  Apprcflaches  to  This  Age.  "  There  are 
three  natural  approaches  to  a  young  man  or  young  woman 
in  this  period  of  social  awakening:  (Ij  The  social  appeal. 
Groups  will  come  together,  a  whole  class  of  young  men 
or  of  young  women.  Two  friends  will  come  together. 
A  young  man  will  bring  his  chum  or  his  lady  friend.  A 
yoimg  woman  will  bring  her  chums  or  her  best  friend. 
We  have  no  right  to  say,  *  These  yoimg  people  came  be- 
cause some  one  else  did.*  That  is  the  way  God  works, 
and  we  should  work  with  him.  (2 J  The  emotional  ap- 
peal. Most  emotional  conversions  occur  at  this  time. 
The  heart  is  easily  touched.  This  is  the  emotional  period 
of  life.  The  will  is  easily  influenced  through  the  emo- 
tions. All  of  us  are  governed  more  by  our  sentiments 
than  by  cold  facts,  but  this  is  most  characteristic  of  yoimg 
|)eople.  Let  us  not  think,  however,  that  fear  and  tears 
are  the  only  signs  of  emotion.  Love  is  the  deepest  emo- 
tion. This  is  the  time  to  *  love '  people  into  the  kingdom. 
*  Isn't  it  wonderful,'  said  a  Christian  worker,  *  to  love 
people  into  the  kingdom? '  (3)  The  appeal  to  the  ideal 
and  heroic.  Ever\-  young  man  and  young  woman  is  an 
idealist.  They  see  things  in  the  large.  They  believe  this 
old  world  can  be  made  better  and  happier.  They  beKeve 
they  can  improve  upon  the  past.  They  believe  that  they 
can  help  to  make  it  a  better  world.  This,  therefore,  is 
the  time  to  present  Jesus — the  world's  idealist — his  pro- 
gram and  his  challenge.    Young  people  have  ahvaj^  re- 


20  Evangelism  of  Youth 

sponded  to  it,  and  they  always  will.     This  is  God's  hour 
of  idealism. 

At  Eighteen 

"  The  next  period  of  religious  interest  comes  about 
the  eighteenth  or  nineteenth  year.  Here  again  there  is  a 
change  of  emphasis.  The  physical  body  is  at  its  highest 
stage  of  development,  and  is  functioning  as  a  good  ma- 
chine. The  first  period  of  social  awakening  and  interest 
has  passed.  Not  the  physical  nor  the  social  is  dominant, 
but  the  intellectual.  Our  young  men  and  young  women 
are  in  college  or  professional  schools  or  just  beginning 
business  for  themselves.  They  are  working  hard  to 
make  good.  With  this  awakening  of  intellectual  interest 
comes  a  religious  interest.  It  may  take  the  form  of 
questions,  doubts,  or  even  open  criticism.  These  are  only 
signs.  Our  young  people  are  beginning  to  interpret 
religion  in  terms  of  the  intellect.  The  reason  is  very 
apparent.  God  wants  the  brain  power  of  the  world 
Christian.  God  would  have  the  intellectual  habits  and 
attitudes  Christian.  Religion  must  stand  the  test  of  the 
intellect  and  of  practical  living.  Our  young  people  in- 
quire,, '  Is  the  Christian  religion  reasonable  and  is  it  prac- 
tical f  ' 

Personal  Interview  Method.  "  It  is  very  evident  that 
we  must  help  our  young  people  think  things  through  for 
themselves  and  find  their  religion  both  reasonable  and  a 
practical  help  in  their  every-day  life.  It  is  quite  evident 
that  this  is  no  time  to  force  a  decision  nor  for  an  emo- 
tional appeal.  The  personal  interview  method  is  best. 
Encourage  young  people  to  ask  questions.  Let  them 
form  their  own  conclusions.     It  is  also  evident  that  re- 


Seasons  of  the  Soul  21 

ligion  must  be  tried,  not  only  by  intellectual  processes, 
but  in  practical  every-day  experience.  We  must  by  all 
means  give  our  young  people  something  to  do  so  that  they 
may  have  the  joy  of  service  and  actually  see  the  working 
power  of  Christianity  in  the  lives  and  conduct  of  people. 
Jesus  said,  '  If  a  man  wills  to  do  he  shall  know.' 

"  These  are  the  Seasons  of  the  Soul  in  the  period  of 
youth.  There  are  other  points  of  awakened  religious  in- 
terest throughout  life,  such  as  when  the  first  baby  is 
bom;  when  death  comes  into  the  home;  when  a  child 
makes  a  personal  decision  for  Christ  or  for  Christian 
service;  or  in  the  time  of  some  gracious  revival  period, 
but  never  again  will  there  be  the  opportunities  for  Chris- 
tianizing the  whole  life  as  in  youth.  The  reason  for  this 
is  very  apparent.  If  the  body  grows  and  all  of  its  habits 
are  uncontrolled  by  Christian  motives;  if  the  social 
awakening  comes  and  one's  closest  friends  are  not  Chris- 
tians and  one's  social  living  is  not  Christian ;  if  intellectual 
habits  and  attitudes  are  not  Christian,  then  to  win  a  per- 
son to  Christ  and  the  Christian  way  of  living  involves  a 
revolutionary  process,  which  must  break  through  estab- 
lished physical,  social,  and  intellectual  habits  and  make 
a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thank  God,  this  can  be 
done.  The  grace  of  God  is  strong  enough  to  remake  a 
man.  Many  a  redeemed  one  has  testified  to  the  saving 
power  of  God. 

"  How  much  better  it  is  to  work  with  God  in  the  con- 
structive years  of  life,  winning  to  Christ  in  youth,  de- 
veloping Christian  habits  of  physical  living,  the  Christian 
way  of  living  together,  and  Christian  habits  and  attitudes 
of  mind.  When  a  man  comes  to  maturity  with  such  a 
development,  he  has  a  Christian  character  that  will  stand 


22  Evangelism  of  Youth 

and  that  will  powerfully  influence  for  good  his  day  and 
generation.  If  we  are  wise  we  will  work  with  God  in 
his  seasons.  Then  shall  men  develop  Christian  minds  in 
Christian  bodies  and  live  together  in  the  Christian  way." 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  When  did  you  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour? 
Under  what  circumstances  ? 

2.  What  person  had  a  helpful  influence  over  your  life? 
What  was  there  about  this  one  that  made  this  im- 
pression on  you  ? 

3.  Do  you  remember  any  period  of  religious  interest 
about  your  tenth  year? 

4.  In  what  way  did  your  young  people's  society  help 
to  develop  you  ? 

5.  Did  you  have  a  period  of  questioning  or  doubt?  At 
what  age  ?  What  caused  it  ?  What  gave  you  assur- 
ance? 

6.  Make  a  program  of  religious  activities  for  youth, 
keeping  in  mind  the  physical,  social,  and  intellectual 
periods  of  life. 

7.  Make  a   list  of   good  books   for  young  people  to 
read. 

8.  Make  a  list  of  physical  habits  that  a  Christian  lad 
should  develop. 

9.  Make  a  list  of  social  qualities  that  should  be  developed 
in  Christian  young  people. 

10.  Make  a  list  of  mental  habits  and  attitudes  for  Chris- 
tian young  people. 

11.  What  courses  of  study  would  you  outline  for  young 
people  ? 


SecLsons  of  the  Soid  23 

12.  Check  up  the  Seasons  of  the  Soul  by  making  a  per- 
sonal survey  of  Christian  people  that  you  know. 

13.  How  can  we  best  help  young  men  and  women  make 
right  life  choices  ? 

REFERENCES 

"  The  Pupil/'  Weigle. 
"  The  Unfolding  Life,"  Lamoreaux. 
"  The  Church  and  Its  Juniors,"  Brockway. 
"  Brothering  the  Boy,"  Raffety. 
"  The  Girl  in  Her  Teens,"  Slattery. 
"  Training  Children  in  the  Christian  Family,"  Weigle 
and  Tweedy. 


CHAPTER  III 

CREATING  AN  EVANGELISTIC 
ATMOSPHERE 

The  advisory  board  of  the  church  had  gathered  at  the 
parsonage  to  consider  the  question  of  creating  an  evan- 
gelistic atmosphere  in  their  church.  The  pastor's  message 
on  **  Seasons  of  the  Soul "  had  stirred  all  their  hearts. 
Each  felt  a  deep  concern  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
church. 

"  We  are  becoming  enthusiastic  over  this  idea  of  a 
campaign  in  our  church  of  *  Evangelism  of  Youth/  "  said 
Deacon  Jones.  "  What  should  be  our  next  step,  and 
when  can  we  get  started  ?  " 

All  turned  to  their  pastor  as  their  leader  in  this  enter- 
prise. He  had  been  very  thoughtful  through  the  devo- 
tional period  which  had  preceded. 

"  Men,"  he  said,  "  I  have  a  confession  to  make.  We 
cannot  lead  our  people  where  we  do  not  know  the  way. 
We  cannot  lift  our  people  spiritually  higher  than  we  our- 
selves have  attained.  This  coming  campaign  has  caused 
me  to  search  my  own  heart  and  life.  I  find  that  I  have 
not  been  spending  time  enough  with  my  Bible  and  in 
prayer.  My  soul  needs  food.  I  need  the  resources  and 
power  of  God  for  my  work.  I  have  read  the  Bible  to  get 
sermons  and  to  prepare  lessons,  but  I  have  not  taken 
enough  time  with  God  alone  in  prayer  and  in  communion 
with  his  word.  I  have  vowed  before  God  and  now  be- 
24 


Creating  an  Evangelistic  Atmosphere        25 

fore  you  to  spend  more  time  feeding  my  own  soul  from 
the  word  and  in  prayer." 

The  officers  looked  at  each  other.  Finally  Deacon 
Love  joy  said :  "  Pastor,  I  too  have  neglected  my  Bible 
and  my  prayer  life.  I  will  enter  with  you  into  closer 
communion  with  our  Lord."  One  after  another  they 
confessed  their  neglect  and  promised  God  that  they  would 
do  better. 

Then  an  unexpected  thing  happened.  Deacon  Brown 
turned  to  Deacon  Miller  and  said :  "  At  our  last  annual 
meeting  you  did  something  I  did  not  like.  I  have  cher- 
ished a  grudge  against  you  ever  since  and  have  been 
waiting  until  I  could  get  even  with  you;  but  now  I  see 
my  fault.  I  want  to  confess  and  ask  your  forgiveness." 
He  reached  his  hand  to  Deacon  Miller,  who  grasped  it 
and  said :  "  I  too  have  not  liked  you  and  have  been  un- 
happy because  of  it.  I  am  so  glad  it  is  all  settled  right 
now  and  that  we  can  be  brothers  in  Christ  again." 

What  is  Evangelism? 

The  pastor  spoke  again :  "  Now  that  we  are  united  and 
purpose  to  live  closer  to  our  Lord  I  want  to  explain  to 
you  my  idea  of  evangelism.  In  the  church  where  I  at- 
tended as  a  boy  they  had  the  custom  of  calling  in  an 
evangelist  once  in  every  three  or  five  years.  The  church 
people  would  rally.  Everybody  for  miles  around  would 
attend  night  after  night,  and  the  whole  spiritual  life  of 
the  church  would  be  lifted.  New  members  would  join 
the  church,  and  the  services  would  be  largely  attended, 
but  soon  things  would  begin  to  lag,  and  at  the  end  of  six 
months  or  a  year  conditions  would  be  much  as  they  were 
before  the  revival.     No  one  seemed  to  think  that  a  person 


26  Evangelism  of  Youth 

could  be  converted  through  the  ordinary  services  of  the 
church,  and  no  one  expected  a  child  would  become  a  fol- 
lower of  Jesus  through  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school. 
In  my  early  thought  evangelism  meant  a  revival  service. 

"  From  my  study  of  the  Bible  and  of  child  life,  I  have 
found  that  evangelism  means  much  more  than  a  revival 
service — and  much  more  than  a  single  act  of  the  will  by 
which  Jesus  is  accepted  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  Evangel- 
ism is  the  good  news.  The  one  who  tells  the  good 
news  must  be  the  living  embodiment  of  the  message. 
He  must  tell  it  with  all  the  love  and  power  of  his  own 
soul,  and  he  must  tell  it  in  such  a  manner  that  some  one 
else  understands  it,  accepts  it,  and  lives  according  to  it. 
The  teacher  in  the  Beginners'  Department,  who  is  intro- 
ducing the  little  ones  to  the  heavenly  Father  who  loves 
and  cares  for  them,  is  doing  the  work  of  an  evangelist. 
The  teacher  in  the  Primary  Department,  who  is  showing 
through  stories  God's  will  and  presenting  Jesus  as  the 
friend  of  children,  is  doing  the  work  of  an  evangelist. 
The  junior  teacher,  who  is  storing  the  eager  mind  with 
the  facts  of  the  Bible,  who  is  making  the  Book  known 
and  loved,  and  who  presents  Jesus  as  the  Great  Leader, 
is  doing  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  Without  an  intelli- 
gent knowledge  of  who  God  is  and  what  he  will  do  for 
a  soul,  who  Jesus  is  and  what  he  came  to  do,  there  cannot 
be  the  fullest  decision  of  life  for  him. 

"  Some  have  thought  that  you  could  separate  educa- 
tion and  evangelism.  Not  so.  Evangelism  is  the  very 
heart  of  religious  education.  There  is  a  law  in  teaching 
which  goes  like  this,  *  Without  learning  on  the  part  of  ^ 
the  student  there  is  no  teaching  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.' 
If  this  be  true,  then  those  who  teach  the  evangel  (good 


Creating  an  Evangelistic  Atmosphere        27 

news)  of  our  Saviour,  must  do  it  in  such  a  manner  that 
Jesus  is  accepted  and  his  manner  of  life  adopted.  Else 
there  is  no  true  teaching.  We  expect  a  decision  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil  for  Christ,  but  this  decision  must  be 
on  the  basis  of  knowledge  that  has  been  given.  The 
person  who  secures  this  decision  of  the  will  to  accept 
Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Lord,  is  doing  the  work  of  an 
evangelist.  So  also  the  person  who  takes  a  child,  a  young 
man,  or  an  adult,  and  teaches  him  to  observe  to  do  all  that 
Jesus  has  commanded — to  be  a  doer  of  the  word — that 
person  is  doing  the  work  of  an  evangelist. 

"  There  are  three  phases  of  evangelism : 

"  1.  There  is  the  telling  of  the  good  news  of  the 
heavenly  Father  and  of  Jesus  the  Saviour. 

"  2.  There  is  the  securing  of  the  actual  decision  of  the  ^ 
will  by  which  a  person  chooses   for  himself  Jesus  as 
Saviour  and  Lord. 

"3.  There  is  the  promotion  of  growth  through  the 
years  into  Christlike  character  and  service. 

"  To  produce  a  real  evangelistic  atmosphere  in  our 
church  we  need  to  begin  with  the  smallest  child  and  fol- 
low right  through  the  steps  of  the  unfolding  life,  until  we 
touch  the  oldest  member  of  our  church. 

Pastoral  Evangelism 

"  This  will  affect  my  preaching  and  my  own  work  as 
your  pastor.  I  want  to  see  people  accept  Jesus  as  their 
own  personal  Saviour  and  Lord.  I  want  to  see  them 
grow  more  and  more  like  him  in  life  and  conduct.  From 
now  on,  I  shall  teach  the  simple  and  wonderful  truths 
of  God  with  a  new  emphasis  and  power.  The  gospel  is 
still  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  unto  every  one  that 


28  Evangelism  of  Youth 

believeth.  I  believe  the  gospel  can  save  individuals  and 
can  save  society  through  redeemed  individuals.  I  believe 
the  gospel  is  the  only  salvation  for  the  world  in  its  unrest, 
its  sin,  and  its  bitterness.  I  shall  preach  to  men's  hearts 
as  well  as  to  their  heads.  I  shall  do  more  personal  work 
and  I  shall  watch  over  my  people  as  a  good  shepherd  of 
the  flock.  I  shall  need  your  constant  prayers  that  in  my 
entire  ministry  there  may  be  the  warm,  joyous  evangel- 
istic note." 

Sunday  School  Evangelism 

"  As  I  see  this  evangelistic  work,"  said  Mr.  Richards, 
the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  "  this  will  affect 
my  work  very  materially.  In  our  school  we  have  the 
greatest  field  for  evangelistic  effort.  We  need  to  increase 
the  attendance.  Every  new  pupil  we  can  bring  under  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible  and  into  personal  touch  with  our 
church  means  not  only  a  new  pupil,  but  also  a  new  home 
with  its  circle  of  friends  and  relatives.  We  need  to  study 
our  school  carefully  to  discover  any  weak  places.  We 
need  to  follow  up  carefully  every  absentee  and  all  irregu- 
lar pupils.  Our  teachers  need  to  catch  the  vision  of  the 
importance  of  their  task  in  making  Jesus  Christ  loved, 
accepted,  and  followed  by  every  one  of  their  pupils.  I 
too  shall  need  the  prayers  of  the  church  that  in  our  school 
there  may  be  a  wholesome  and  sympathetic  evangelistic 
spirit  so  that  it  will  be  easy  and  natural  for  boys  and 
girls  to  accept  Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Lord." 

EvangeUsm  in  the  Young  People*s  Societ}f 

Mr.  Witter,  president  of  the  young  people's  society, 
said :  "  Young  people  can  win  other  young  people  better 


Creating  an  Evangelistic  Atmosphere         29 

than  any  one  else.  I  have  read  a  great  deal  about  the 
*  Win  my  Chum '  plans  for  young  people.  I  believe  in 
it.  I  can  see  a  great  opportunity  in  our  church  for  our 
society.  We  must  get  a  list  of  all  young  people  connected 
with  our  congregation.  We  must  take  more  training  in 
personal  work,  and  then  we  can  go  out  and  win  others. 
It  looks  to  me  as  if  we  needed  to  give  more  thought  to 
our  own  spiritual  life  as  young  people  and  to  the  regular 
meetings  of  our  society  that  they  should  be  more  helpful 
and  more  attractive.  Then  our  society  should  be  training 
the  young  people  for  real  service  so  that  our  young  people 
will  not  only  be  good,  but  good  for  something.  I  cer- 
tainly need  your  prayers  for  myself  and  for  the  young 
people  of  our  society." 

Essentials 

Faith.  "  There  are  some  other  things  for  us  to  re- 
member," said  the  pastor.  "  We  can  do  nothing  without 
faith.  We  must  believe.  By  faith  we  are  saved.  With- 
out faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  and  without  faith 
it  is  impossible  for  God  to  use  us.  The  minute  we  say  a 
thing  can't  be  done  we  put  ourselves  in  the  place  where 
God  cannot  use  us  to  do  that  thing.  We  must  be  happy 
and  loving  in  the  outward  expression  of  our  religion. 
Love  never  faileth.  We  must  expect  God  to  honor  his 
word  and  give  us  the  desires  of  our  heart. 

Cooperation.  "  There  must  be  the  heartiest  coopera- 
tion. This  is  the  plan  we  have  adopted  for  this  year. 
There  must  be  no  division  of  our  forces.  An  evangelistic 
spirit  should  prevail  in  every  department  of  our  church. 
Above  all,  we  must  depend  constantly  upon  the  help  and 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 


30  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Prayer.  The  spirit  of  prayer  took  possession  of  the 
men  and  women.  They  knelt  in  prayer  and  earnestly 
asked  God  for  forgiveness,  for  guidance,  and  for  the 
blessing  and  presence  of  his  Spirit.  As  they  went  home 
all  were  conscious  of  the  nearness  of  God,  and  each 
resolved  that  he  would  spend  more  time  in  prayer  for  his 
own  spiritual  life,  for  the  pastor,  the  teachers,  and  the 
various  departments  of  the  church.  Each  knew  that  he 
was  no  longer  a  lone  intercessor,  but  that  there  was  now 
a  group  of  the  church  officers  praying  together  for  one 
thing  and  conscious  of  the  Divine  presence. 

^^  Again,  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree 
on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall 
he  done  for  them  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  For 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  themf^ 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  How  much  time  do  you  spend  daily  in  feeding  your 
soul? 

2.  What  habit  of  Bible  reading  do  you  have? 

3.  Do  you  know  of  any  instance  where  open  quarrels 
between  church  officials  have  proved  detrimental  to 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  church? 

4.  How  create  an  evangelistic  atmosphere  in  the  Sunday 
school?     The  young  people's   society?     Among  the 
trustees?     In  the  woman's  society?     In  the  boys'  and 
girls'  organizations? 

5.  How  create  a  real  passion  for  souls? 

6.  What  will  destroy  an  evangelistic  spirit  in  a  church? 


Creating  an  Evangelistic  Atmosphere        31 

REFERENCES 

"  Training  of  the  Devotional  Life,"  Weigle. 
"  Meaning  of  Prayer,"  Fosdick. 

"  Handbook  for  Workers  with  Young  People,"  Thomp- 
son. 

"  Church  School  Objectives,"  Chalmers,  editor. 

"  Method  in  Soul-winning,"  Mabie. 

"  Passion  for  Souls,"  Jowett. 

"  Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism,"  Goodell. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AS  HELPER 

There  had  developed  among  several  devout  members 
of  the  church  considerable  opposition  to  the  plan  of 
evangelism  as  suggested  by  the  pastor  and  adopted  by 
the  church.  There  were  two  principal  objections.  Mr. 
Brown,  speaking  for  one  group,  said :  "  You  talk  more 
about  seasons  of  the  soul  and  the  laws  of  psychology 
than  you  do  about  the  divine  side  of  evangelism.  For 
my  part  I  believe  in  depending  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
convict  people  of  sin  and  bring  them  to  repentance." 

Mrs.  Goodwin  said :  "  I  do  not  believe  in  all  this  organi- 
zation and  all  these  plans  for  prayer  groups,  personal 
work,  and  training-classes.  Let  us  depend  entirely  upon 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we  shall  need  no  plans  or  organiza- 
tion." 

The  pastor  was  troubled.  He  prayed  about  it  and 
talked  it  over  with  the  deacons.  It  was  evident  to  him 
that  any  considerable  opposition  on  the  part  of  his  people 
would  militate  against  the  whole  program.  But  deeper 
than  this  he  was  grieved  because  to  his  way  of  thinking 
God  was  in  this  whole  program.  There  are  laws  of  the 
Spirit.  If  he  could  discover  them  and  use  them  he  was 
working  in  harmony  with  God.  Then,  too,  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  promised  for  certain  definite  things.  As  he 
had  studied  in  his  Bible  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he 
had  come  to  believe  that  the  Spirit  was  promised  to  help 

32 


The  Holy  Spirit  ds  Helper  33 

in  the  very  things  they  were  undertaking.  But  how  could 
he  make  this  plain  to  the  people  ?  He  felt  sure  that  if  they 
could  see  the  Bible  teaching  on  this  they  would  no  longer 
oppose  but  cooperate  heartily.  He,  therefore,  decided  to 
turn  his  midweek  service  into  a  Bible  study  group,  to  in- 
vite all  these  conscientious  objectors  to  bring  their  Bibles 
and  to  study  the  Bible  teachings  about  the  Holy  Spirit. 

There  was  a  large  attendance  at  the  midweek  service. 
Each  person  who  had  not  brought  a  Bible  was  furnished 
with  one.  After  a  brief  period  of  worship,  the  pastor 
said :  "  There  is  a  divine  side  to  evangelism.  We  are 
workers  together  with  God.  Without  him  it  is  impossible 
to  do  our  task.  God  has  provided  the  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ.  There  is  no  other.  God  has  given  us  the  evangel 
(good  news).  We  have  the  blessed  privilege  of  telling 
the  good  news  of  salvation.  God  has  sent  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  our  helper.  It  is  important  for  us  that  we  know  the 
laws  that  govern  the  growth  of  the  body  and  the  mind. 
It  is  right  for  us  to  organize  our  church  in  every  legiti- 
mate way  for  the  purpose  of  helping  people  to  become 
followers  of  Christ.  We  may  do  all  this  and  fail  unless 
we  recognize  our  Divine  Partner  and  work  with  him  in 
our  task. 

"  There  has  been  a  great  deal  said  in  recent  years  about 
the  Holy  Spirit.  I  believe  him  to  be  our  Helper  in  the 
very  work  which  we  are  now  undertaking  in  our  church. 
As  I  have  studied  my  Bible  I  find  that  he  is  promised  as 
our  special  helper  in  every  essential  part  of  our  present 
program  of  evangelism.  On  the  last  night  that  Jesus  was 
with  his  disciples  he  told  them  that  he  was  going  away 
but  that  the  Father  would  send  another  Helper.  Read 
carefully  John  14  :  16,  17. 


34  Evangelism  of  Youth 

"  Mr.  Brown,  what  is  the  marginal  reading  of  the  word 
translated  *  Comforter  '    " 

"  Advocate  or  Helper." 

"  Yes,  that  is  right.  Jesus  said :  '  I  am  going  away, 
but  the  Father  will  give  you  another  Helper.  I  have 
been  with  you.  I  am  going  away.  But  the  other  Helper 
will  be  with  you  forever.  He  abideth  -with  you  and  shall 
be  in  you.'  This  was  a  special  gift  to  the  disciples  and 
not  to  the  world.  A  Helper  with  them  and  in  them  for- 
ever. This  is  exactly  the  need  of  our  church  in  this 
campaign.  The  realization  that  we  have  a  Divine  Helper, 
not  given  to  unbelievers,  who  is  in  us,  and  with  us  forever. 

"  Let  us  now  see  from  the  Bible  itself  in  what  ways 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  promised  as  a  Helper.  Mrs.  Matthews, 
read  John  14  :  26,  John  15  :  26,  John  16  :  13,  14.  Tell 
us  the  things  that  Jesus  said  the  Holy  Spirit  would  do." 

"He  is  promised  as  a  Helper  to  know  about  Jesus/' 
she  said.  "  It  reads :  '  He  shall  teach  you  all  things  and 
bring  to  your  remembrance  all  things  which  I  said  unto 
you.  He  shall  bear  witness  of  me.  He  shall  guide  into 
all  the  truth.  He  shall  glorify  me,  for  He  shall  take  of 
mine  and  shall  declare  it  unto  you.'  " 

"  Don't  you  see,"  said  the  pastor,  "  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
promised  as  a  helper  to  understand,  to  remember,  and  to 
write  the  story  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus?  This 
same  Spirit  helps  us  to  know  and  understand  Jesus  rs  we 
read  and  study  the  Bible  today.  This  Spirit  also  makes 
Jesus  real  to  the  sensitive  hearts  of  youth.  The  Spirit 
does  not  talk  about  himself,  but  about  Jesus.  Our  whole 
educational  program  is  right  and  we  have  the  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  making  Jesus  and  his  way  of  living  known 
and  accepted. 


The  Holy  Spirit  as  Helper  35 

"  Will  you  read  in  concert  John  16  :  7-11  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Richards,  what  help  is  promised  from  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  these  verses  ?  '* 

"  I  think/'  said  Mr.  Richards,.  ''  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
helps  us  to  know  right  and  wrong.  I  am  sure  we  need 
his  guidance  in  this  particular.  It  seems  to  me  that  this 
promise  helps  us  in  our  personal  work.  If  I  go  to  a  boy 
in  my  Sunday  school  and  talk  with  him  about  the  Chris- 
tian life,  God's  Spirit  has  also  been  working  with  him  in 
making  clear  the  things  that  are  right  and  those  that  are 
wrong.  I  may  be  quite  sure  that  when  the  Spirit  con- 
vinces me  that  it  is  right  to  speak  to  some  one  about  the 
Christian  life  he  has  also  convicted  that  one  of  the  sin 
of  unbelief  and  the  rightness  of  the  Christian  life.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  our  greatest  helper  in  personal  work  and 
in  winning  others  from  a  life  of  sin  to  the  life  of  holi- 
ness." 

"  Now,  will  you  all  follow  carefully  as  Deacon  Jones 
reads  John  3  :  1-16,  also  John  1  :  12,  13.  Deacon  Jones, 
what  do  these  verses  mean  to  you  ?  " 

"  It  seems  clear  to  me,"  said  the  deacon,  "  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  helps  us  to  become  Christians.  On  our  part 
we  accept  Jesus  as  our  personal  Saviour  and  we  turn 
from  our  sins.  But  God  has  a  part  too.  Our  spiritual 
life  is  from  above.  That  which  is  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit. 
Our  spiritual  life  is  God's  gift  through  his  Holy  Spirit." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  pastor,  "  we  stand  with  bowed  heads 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  marvel  at  his  wonderful  love, 
recognizing  the  mystery  of  his  divine  grace.  '  For  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  on  him,  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.*     But  where  do  we  find  that  God 


36  Evangelism  of  Youth 

saves  only  adults  or  that  he  cannot  and  does  not  use  the 
seasons  of  the  soul  for  his  saving  grace?  If  we  find  that 
at  certain  times  in  youth  the  soul  is  more  sensitive  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  heart  is  more  believ- 
ing, should  we  not,  therefore,  work  with  God  in  his  sea- 
sons? If  there  is  the  believing  heart  we  may  be  sure  that 
God  will  do  his  divine  part  in  imparting  spiritual  life. 
Mr.  Witter,  will  you  read  Romans  8  :  14-17,  and  tell  us 
in  what  way  the  Spirit  helps  young  Christians  ?  " 

"  I  think,"  he  said  thoughtfully  after  he  had  read, 
''  that  the  Spirit  helps  us  to  know  that  me  are  Christians. 
We  need  no  longer  go  about  fearful  and  wondering 
whether  we  are  God's  children.  *  As  many  as  are  led  by 
the  Spirit  these  are  the  sons  of  God.  The  Spirit  himself 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children 
of  God.' " 

"  In  our  present  campaign,"  continued  the  pastor,  "  we 
are  making  much  of  prayer.  We  have  our  prayer  lists. 
Can  we  claim  the  Holy  Spirit  as  our  helper  in  prayer? 
Has  any  one  Weymouth's  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment? Yes,  Miss  Neel,  will  you  read  Romans  8  :  26, 
27?" 

"  '  In  the  same  way  the  Spirit  also  helps  us  in  our  weak- 
ness: for  we  do  not  know  what  prayers  to  offer  nor  in 
what  way  to  offer  them.  But  the  Spirit  himself  pleads 
for  us  in  yearnings  that  can  find  no  words,  and  the 
Searcher  of  hearts  knows  what  the  Spirit's  meaning  is, 
because  his  intercessions  for  God's  people  are  in  harmony 
with  God's  will.' 

"I  surely  think,"  she  said,  "that  we  ought  to  pray 
definitely  for  definite  people  just  as  Jesus  did  and  expect 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  us  and  interpret  for  us  to  God 


The  Holy  Spirit  as  Helper  37 

our  longings  for  the  salvation  of  our  Sunday  school 
pupils  and  others  who  are  near  and  dear  to  us.  I  heard 
once  of  a  Sunday  school  which  invited  a  man  to  conduct 
a  decision  day  for  them.  He  outlined  carefully  the  plaji 
of  intercessory  prayer  and  personal  work.  Some  one  led 
them  to  believe  that  they  did  not  need  any  prayer  or  per- 
sonal work  or  any  organized  effort  to  win  the  pupils  for 
Christ.  So  they  did  nothing.  When  the  decision  hour 
came,  no  one  responded.  They  failed  because  of  unbelief 
and  lack  of  prayer.  Until  this  evening  I  had  never  seen 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  prayer.  I  shall  surely  let 
him  use  me  in  my  prayer  life." 

"  In  our  effort  to  win  others  to  the  Christian  way  of 
living,"  said  the  pastor,  "  we  are  expecting  to  make  much 
of  personal  testimony.  In  personal  work  there  is  an  im- 
portant place  for  a  personal  endorsement  of  the  Christ. 
We  must  speak  a  good  word  for  him  if  we  want  others 
to  accept  him.  We  need  to  provide  for  testimony  meet- 
ings in  our  church.  Every  time  a  person  speaks  a  good 
word  for  Jesus  he  helps  two  people,  himself  and  another. 
He  may  never  know  who  the  other  one  is.  But  no  one 
can  give  a  personal  testimony  of  the  love  of  Christ  with- 
out loving  Christ  the  more.  Has  the  Holy  Spirit  any- 
thing to  do  with  '  Witnessing  for  Christ'? 

"  Read  carefully  Acts  1:4,  5 ;  Acts  1  :  8.  Jesus 
promised  the  disciples  power.  This  power  should  come 
through  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  power  was  for  a  definite 
purpose.  For  what  purpose,  Mrs.  Goodwin,  do  you  find 
this  power  was  given?  " 

"  In  Acts  1  :  8  the  purpose  is  set  forth  as  power  to 
bear  witness  in  Jerusalem,  Judea,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth." 


38  Evangelism  of  Youth 

"  You  are  right,  Mrs.  Goodwin.  Jesus  promised  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  a  helper  to  hear  powefful  witness  to  him. 
Read  Acts  2,  the  story  of  Pentecost.  The  significant 
fact  is  that  all  became  witnjesses  of  Christ  and  that  Peter 
became  an  outstanding  witness  for  him  and  that  many- 
believed  and  were  baptized.  If  you  read  the  entire  book 
of  the  Acts  you  will  find  the  story  of  those  who  bore 
powerful  witness  to  Christ,  first  in  Jerusalem,  then  in 
Judea,  and  then  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  world. 

''  Thi^  Holy  Spirit  is  our  Helper  in  witnessing  for 
Christ.  Whether  we  talk  face  to  face  with  a  friend  or 
whether  we  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  congregation  and 
speak  to  many,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  our  Helper  in  making 
a  powerful  presentation  of  Christ.  I  wish  now  that  you 
would  all  read  with  me  Galatians  5  :  16-26 : 

"  '  This  I  say  then,  walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not 
fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh.  For  the  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  Spirit  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh :  and  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  another,  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the 
things  that  ye  would.  But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  longsufifering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance ;  against  such  there  is  no  law.  And 
they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the 
affections  and  lusts.  If  we  live  by  the  Spirit,  by  the 
Spirit  let  us  walk.  Let  us  not  be  desirous  of  vain  glory, 
provoking  one  another,  envying  one  anoither.' 

"  Also  Galatians  6  :  7,  8 :  '  Be  not  deceived,  God  is  not 
mocked :  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap.  He  that  soweth  unto  his  own  flesh,  shall  of  the 
flesh  reap  corruption :  but  he  that  soweth  unto  the  Spirit, 
shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  eternal  life.' 

"  In  our  church  we  expect  growth  in  the  Christian  life. 


The  Holy  Spirit  as  Helper  39 

We  do  not  expect  full-grown  Christian  experience  in 
new-born  Christians.  We  do  not  expect  our  boys  and 
girls  to  have  the  character  and  knowledge  of  old  men  and 
women.  We  are  planning  our  whole  church  program 
so  as  to  help  our  young  people  grow  up  into  Christ  in 
all  things,  and  to  become  like  him.  This  takes  time  and 
it  takes  struggle.  But  the  end  is  glorious  both  now  and 
eternally. 

^'  The  Holy  Spirit  is  our  Helper  in  developing  Christian 
character.  The  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  self- 
control. 

"  Before  we  close  our  study  tonight  I  want  you  to  heed 
two  warnings : 

"  1.  Quench  not  the  Spirit.  1  Thessalonians  5  :  19. 
The  Holy  Spirit  produces  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  This  is 
especially  true  of  young  Christians.  Do  not  quench 
them  by  criticism,  indifference,  or  unbelief. 

"  2.  Grieve  not  the  Spirit.  Ephesians  4  :  30.  Notice 
how  this  warning  is  placed  between  two  common  sins — 
corrupt  speech  and  anger.  Does  it  mean  that  we  grieve 
our  Divine  Helper  when  we  are  impure  in  our  speech 
and  unkindly  in  our  attitudes  toward  others  ?     Listen : 

" '  Let  no  corrupt  speech  proceed  out  of  your  mouth, 
but  such  as  is  good  for  edifying  as  the  need  may  be  that 
it  may  give  grace  to  them  that  hear.' 

"  *  And  grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  in  whom  ye 
were  sealed  unto  fhe  day  of  redemption.' 

'' '  Let  all  bitterness  and  wrath  and  anger  and  railing 
be  put  away  from  you  with  all  malice.  And  be  ye  kind, 
tender-hearted,  forgiving  each  other,  even  as  God  for 
Christ's  sake  forgave  you  '  (Ephesians  4  :  29-32). 


40  Evangelism  of  Youth 

"  May  we  all  make  much  use  of  our  Divine  Helper. 

Let  him  teach  us  more  and  more  about  Christ. 

Let  him  teach  us  right  and  wrong. 

Let  him  give  power  to  bear  witness. 

Let  him  assure  our  hearts  that  we  are  children 
of  God. 

Let  him  help  in  prayer. 

Let  us  live  and  walk  by  the  Spirit,  fully  confi- 
dent that  in  us  shall  appear  the  fruit  of  the 
spirit  and  we  shall  reap  eternal  life." 


^ 


"  Pastor,"  said  Mr.  Brown,  "  I  have  greatly  enjoyed 
our  Bible  study  tonight.  I  am  very  grateful  that  you 
have  opened  before  us  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
our  divine  helper.  I  am  delighted  to  know  that  in  our 
educational  program  and  in  our  evangelistic  campaign  we 
are  not  depending  merely  upon  organization  and  human 
plans,  but  shall  avail  ourselves  of  the  assistance  of  our 
divine  Helper,  the  Holy  Spirit.  You  can  count  upon  me 
in  this  campaign." 

REFERENCES 

"  The  Holy  Spirit  Our  Silent  Partner,"  Hobart. 
"  A  Study  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  Stafford. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  ATTRACTIVE  CHRIST 

Under  the  leadership  of  the  president,  Mr.  Witter,  the 
young  people's  society  had  caught  the  vision  of  an  evan- 
gelistic campaign  which  included  them.  All  the  young 
people  of  the  entire  congregation  had  been  listed.  This 
had  required  some  time  and  an  immense  amount  of  work, 
and  yet  it  was  a  surprising  discovery  to  find  that  there 
were  so  many  splendid  young  people  in  the  homes  of  the 
members  and  rooming  right  around  the  church.  Many 
of  them  were  strangers,  having  recently  come  into  the 
community.  Every  one  of  these  young  people  had  been 
put  on  the  prayer  list  of  some  one  of  the  Christian  young 
people.  A  "  Secret  Service "  had  been  organized  of 
those  who  would  form  a  prayer  list  and  actually  do  per- 
sonal work.  The  young  people's  society  had  arranged  a 
great  social  evening  to  which  all  the  newly  discovered 
young  people  were  invited.  This  had  been  carefully  pre- 
pared so  that  everybody  was  busy  and  everybody  became 
acquainted  and  all  had  a  good  time. 

The  young  people's  meetings  were  increasing  in  at- 
tendance and  in  interest.  The  devotional  services  were 
planned  with  utmost  care,  and  each  leader  tried  to  make 
his  meeting  a  little  better  than  that  of  the  week  before. 
A  great  rally  of  young  people  was  planned  for  Sunday 
.night.  The  pastor  had  been  asked  to  prepare  a  special 
message  for  the  young  people.     There  was  a  large  chorus 

41 


42  Evangelism  of  Youth 

choir.  Young  men  acted  as  ushers,  and  all  the  other 
young  people  of  the  church  sat  together  during  the  ser- 
vice. Because  of  the  work  of  the  young  people  and  be- 
cause of  the  interest  of  the  entire  church  in  their  young 
people,  the  room  was  filled.  The  pastor  caught  the  en- 
thusiastic spirit  of  his  young  people  and  spoke  with 
earnestness  and  power,  as  follows  : 

"  Some  weeks  ago  I  was  talking  with  a  principal  of  a 
well-known  high  school  about  the  religious  life  of  youth. 
He  said :  *  Last  Sunday  as  I  was  teaching  my  men's  Bible 
class  I  asked  them  this  question,  "If  Jesus  Christ  is  as 
attractive  as  you  and  I  believe  him  to  be,  why  is  he  not 
more  attractive  to  students  in  high  school  and  college  ?  " 
After  we  had  discussed  this  for  some  time,  I  asked  them 
this  question,  "  Have  we  been  presenting  the  attractive 
Christ  to  our  high  school  and  college  students  ?  "  '  This 
conversation  has  caused  me  a  great  deal  of  thought. 
Have  we  presented  the  attractive  Christ?  Is  there  any- 
thing in  our  Christ  attractive  to  our  young  people? 
What  in  Christ  is  attractive  to  them?  I  began  asking 
young  people,  *  What  is  there  attractive  in  Jesus  Christ 
to  you  ?  '  I  have  asked  hundreds  this  question.  I  have 
noted  carefully  their  answers.  I  bring  you  tonight,  not 
my  ideas,  but  the  ideas  of  young  people  themselves.  I 
will  give  you  the  statements  which  they  have  given 
most  frequently  and  which  seem  to  me  most  typical 
of  youth. 

"  I  asked  an  outstanding  athlete  and  a  leader  among 
the  students.     His   answer  was  typical  of   red-blooded, 
aggressive  young  Americans.     He  said,  ''  Jesus  is  attrac-  ^ 
tive  to  me  because  he  was  a  man  who  did  things  and  who 
expects  his  followers  to  do  things  worth  while/    Jesus 


The  Attractive  Christ  43 


was  born  in  a  little  village  in  an  obscure  nation  many 
years  ago,  and  yet  he  has  completely  changed  the  current 
of  the  world's  history.  He  has  powerfully  influenced 
civilization.  He  has  given  children  a  place  in  the  life  of 
the  world.  He  has  emancipated  women  and  exalted 
motherhood.  He  never  wrote  a  word  save  in  the  dust 
of  the  pavement,  and  yet  he  has  been  the  inspiration  of 
many  of  the  great  authors  since  that  day.  One  cannot 
read  and  understand  English  literature  without  knowing 
something  about  this  man.  He  never  painted  a  picture, 
but  he  has  been  the  inspiration  of  many  of  the  greatest 
artists  of  the  world.  He  never  sang  a  song  that  we  know 
of.  Angels  sang  at  his  birth.  His  mother  sang  around 
the  home,  and  little  children  sang  their  hosannas  in  the 
temple.  Yet  he  has  been  the  theme  and  the  inspiration 
of  many  of  the  world's  greatest  oratorios  and  songs.  He 
never  erected  a  church  building,  and  yet  his  followers 
have  built  great  cathedrals  and  dotted  the  land  with 
houses  of  worship.  He  healed  a  few  sick  people,  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstopped  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  and 
made  the  lame  to  walk.  Ever  since  that  time  his  fol- 
lowers have  healed  the  sick.  Modern  medical  science, 
hospitals,  asylums,  orphanages,  homes  for  the  aged,  all 
these  are  the  results  largely  of  the  influence  of  this  man 
of  Galilee.  Modern  civilization  with  its  humane  laws,  its 
educational  system,  its  churches,  and  all  its  social  and 
philanthropic  enterprises,  is  the  result  in  this  world  of  the 
life  and  teachings  of  Jesus. 

"  I  spoke  to  another,  a  thoughtful  earnest  student.     He 
was  a  seeker  after  truth,  a  lover  of  books  and  eager  to 
know.     His  answer  was  illuminating.     '  Jesus  is  attrac-  v 
tive  to  me  because  he  is  a  greet  teacher f   Yes,  the  world's 


44  Evangelism  of  Youth 

greatest  teacher.  He  knew  God  and  the  spiritual  life 
that  is  from  God.  He  knew  of  the  heavenly  home  with 
God  and  of  eternal  life.  He  knew  man.  He  knew  the 
life  of  man  on  earth  with  its  limitations,  temptations, 
sins,  sorrows,  and  death.  He  knew  how  God  feels  and 
acts  toward  men  and  how  men  ought  to  feel  and  act 
toward  one  another.  He  knew  how  to  teach.  The  stu- 
dents of  the  world  sit  humbly  at  his  feet,  and  listen  to 
his  voice,  and  follow  his  methods.  He  knew  how  to  adapt 
his  message  to  the  needs  of  the  people  to  whom  he  was 
speaking  at  any  given  time.  Greatest  of  all,  he  was  the 
very  embodiment  in  life  of  his  message,  he  lived  his  own 
teaching.  Some  one  has  said  :  '  We  teach  a  little  by  what 
we  say.  More  by  what  we  do.  Most  by  what  we  are.' 
In  word,  deed,  and  life,  Jesus  is  the  world's  greatest 
teacher. 

"  A  clean-cut  lad  of  high  ideals  said :  '  Jesus  is  attrac- 
tive to  me  because  he  was  a  real  man,  clean,  strong, 
m^nly,  human.  I  can  follow  him  in  all  things/  Jesus 
was  a  real  boy  in  the  home,  a  real  young  man  learning  a 
trade  and  working  at  it,  a  real  man,  tempted  yet  resist- 
ing— living  in  the  midst  of  sin  and  yet  mastering;  dis- 
appointed and  yet  never  losing  his  faith;  sorrowing,  yet 
never  losing  his  courage.  One  who  would  die  and  did 
die  on  the  cross  rather  than  lower  his  ideals  or  compro- 
mise with  evil. 

One  who  .  .  .  marched  breast  forward. 

Never  doubted  clouds  would  break; 
Never  dreamed,  though  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would 

triumph; 
Held  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better, 

Sleep  to  wake. 


The  Attractive  Christ  45 

"  I  asked  a  shy,  bashful,  sensitive  girl,  one  who  shrinks 
from  taking  any  position  of  leadership,  who  lives  in  a 
dream  world  of  her  own,  who  is  often  misunderstood  and 
often  very  lonely.  She  said,  '  I  like  Jesus  because  he 
understands  me/  A  heart  which  longed  to  be  understood 
found  comfort  in  Jesus  who  did  understand.  Yes,  he 
understands  youth  with  its  idealism,  its  day-dreams,  its 
emotional  upsets,  its  longings,  and  its  misunderstandings. 
He  can  help  as  no  other  one  can. 

"  I  asked  a  sixteen-year-old  girl.  She  was  attractive 
and  beautiful,  full  of  life  and  fun,  the  center  of  the  social 
life  of  her  group.  She  said,  *"/  like  Jesus  because  he  is 
a  good  lover/  What  more  typical  answer  could  she  give? 
At  the  springtime  of  her  own  life,  when  her  own  heart 
went  out  in  love  to  others  and  when  she  wanted  to  be 
loved.  Jesus  a  good  lover!  He  is  just  that.  He  does 
not  come  to  force  his  way  into  our  lives.  He  is  the  lover 
who  comes  to  win  by  love.  He  comes,  not  to  make  un- 
happy, but  to  bring  joy;  not  to  take  away,  but  to  give; 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  and  enrich. 

O  Love  that  wilt  not  let  me  go! 

"At  the  close  of  a  happy  party  of  young  people  in  a 
church,  I  asked  my  question  of  one  of  the  young  ladies. 
She  said,  as  her  eyes  still  sparkled  with  the  fun  which  she 
had  been  enjoying : '  Jesus  was  once  a  young  man  himself. 
He  has  the  point  of  view  of  youth.  He  is  no  joy-killer/ 
And  she  was  right.  Jesus  was  only  thirty-three  when  he 
finished  his  work  on  earth.  He  gathered  around  him 
young  men  about  his  own  age  as  his  disciples.  He  began 
his  life's  work  in  the  festivities  of  a  wedding.  The  home 
where  he  loved  most  of  all  to  go  was  in  Bethany,  where 


46  Evangelism  of  Youth 


there  were  three  young  people,  Mary,  and  Martha,  and 
Lazarus.  He  Hved  a  joyous  Hfe  and  said  to  his  disciples 
as  he  was  about  to  leave  them,  '  These  things  have  I 
spoken  unto  you  that  my  joy  might  be  in  you  and  your 
joy  might  be  made  complete.' 

"Another  young  man  who  was  noted  for  his  loyalty 
to  his  college,  said,  'Jesus  is  a  trive  friend  and  always 
loyal'  A  true  friend  and  always  loyal!  Everybody 
wants  a  friend.  Everybody  wants  to  feel  that  there  is 
some  one  whom  they  can  trust  and  who  is  always  de- 
pendable. Jesus  as  our  friend  loves  us,  understands  us, 
and  is  always  near  us  to  help.  He  was  loyal  to  his  Father, 
to  his  Father's  will,  to  his  disciples,  and  loyal  to  his  own, 
even  unto  death. 

What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus, 
All  our  sins  and  griefs  to  bear. 

What  a  privilege  to  carry 
Everything  to  God  in  prayer. 

"  A  young  man  who  had  been  thoughtless  and  wicked, 
who  had  sown  his  wild  oats  and  brought  grief  to  his  par- 
ents and  to  himself,  but  who  was  now  living  a  consecrated 
Christian  life,  said :  '  /  love  Jesus  because  he  is  my  Sav- 
iour. When  I  needed  some  one  to  help  me,  when  I  was 
powerless  to  break  the  bad  habits  which  fettered  me,  I 
looked  to  Jesus,  God's  Son,  who  died  on  the  cross  for  me. 
I  took  him  as  my  Saviour,  and  the  life  I  now  live  is  due 
entirely  to  him.* 

"Jesus,  the  mighty  Saviour  from  sin.  Who  of  us 
does  not  need  him?  We  have  all  sinned  and  come  short 
of  our  possibilities.  We  do  need  a  Saviour.  He  comes 
to  seek  us  when  we  are  lost.    He  offers  himself,  God's 


The  Attractive  Christ  47 

love  gift,  as  our  Saviour  from  sin.  We  accept  him  and 
his  sacrifice  on  the  cross  in  our  behalf.  Wonderful 
Saviour,  the  gift  of  Gods  love. 

My  Jesus,  I  love  thee, 

I  know  thou  art  mine; 

For  thee  all  the  follies  of  sin  I  resign. 

"  A  young  man  who  had  just  started  in  business  for 
himself,  said:  'Jesus  appeals  to  me  because  his  religion  is 
practical;  it  helps  me  in  my  home,  in  my  business,  and  in 
my  dealings  with  men/ 

*'  A  practical  religion  that  makes  better  men  and  women 
and  boys  and  girls,  that  makes  better  and  happier  homes, 
that  gives  ideals  and  principles  for  business  life,  that 
shows  people  how  to  live  and  work  together  happily  and 
helpfully,  that  puts  spiritual  things  above  material  things 
and  makes  people  fit  for  an  eternal  habitation  with  God — 
yes,  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  practical.  It  will  stand  the 
test  of  every-day  living. 

"A  group  of  young  missionaries  were  facing  East- 
ward. They  were  the  best  products  of  our  Christian 
homes,  our  churches,  and  our  Christian  schools  and  col- 
leges. They  were  giving  their  reasons  for  going  to  the 
foreign  mission  field.  One  young  man  said :  '  Jesus  has 
a  program  for  the  salvation  of  this  whole  world.  As  far 
as  I  can  find  he  has  the  only  real  program.  I  am  glad  to 
serve  with  him  and  under  his  leadership  in  helping  thie 
people  of  China  to  know  him,  to  love  him,  and  to  live 
according  to  his  wonderful  way  of  living.* 

"  Yes,  there  is  something  for  each  of  us  to  do.  I  do 
not  know  where  nor  how  God  will  call  us  to  serve,  but 
this  I  do  know:  Jesus  is  leading  his  people  onward  to 


48  Evangelism  of  Youth 

ultimate  and  complete  victory.  He  is  to  be  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  becoming  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 
His  kingdom  is  coming,  and  his  will  is  to  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  To  this  task  he  is  com- 
mitted, and  to  each  of  us  is  given  our  part.  What  a 
wonderful  Saviour!  What  an  opportunity  is  ours  of 
working  with  him  in  his  task  of  world  redemption !  He 
depends  upon  us.     Will  we  disappoint  him? 

"  Jesus  is  attractive  to  thousands  of  our  young  people. 
He  ought  to  be  attractive  to  all  of  them.  The  early 
apostles  exhausted  language  in  describing  the  beauties 
and  glories  of  Christ.  Have  we  presented  the  attractive 
Christ?  Have  we  made  the  Christian  religion  attractive 
to  our  young  people?  Are  we  living  a  beautiful,  attrac- 
tive Christian  life  ourselves  ?  " 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

What  are  some  of  the  things  in  religion  which  appeal 
to  young  people? 

What  are  some  things  that  older  people  love  in  religion 
which  do  not  appeal  to  youth? 

Some  one  has  said,  "  Every  time  there  is  a  church  fuss, 
she  loses  a  generation  of  young  people."  Is  this  true? 
Why? 

Have  young  people  higher  or  lower  ideals  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  than  adults? 

Is  the  religious  life  of  our  high  schools  and  colleges 
better  or  worse  than  fifty  years  ago? 

What  kind  of  people  would  you  pick  as  leaders  of 
young  people? 


The  Attractive  Christ  49 


REFERENCES 

"  The  Youth  and  the  Nation,"  Moore. 
"  You  Are  the  Hope  of  the  World,"  Hagedorn. 
"  The  Manhood  of  the  Master,"  Fosdick.  ^ 
"  Youth  and  the  Church,"  Maus. 

"Handbook     for    Workers     with     Young     People," 
Thompson. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PERSONAL  WORK  FOR  SOULS 

A  personal  workers'  class  was  formed  in  the  Freetown 
Church  made  up  of  the  Sunday  school  teachers,  some  of 
the  church  officers,  and  selected  young  people  and  other 
members  of  the  church.  These  had  agreed  to  take  a 
course  of  instruction  under  the  pastor  in  personal  work 
for  four  nights  and  then  try  out  in  practise  for  one  week 
the  things  they  had  learned.  This  is  the  outline  of  the 
course  as  prepared  by  the  pastor  and  given  to  the  class. 

What  is  Personal  Work? 

Personal  Work  Defined.  Many  people  have  a  mistaken 
idea  of  personal  work.  They  think  it  means  working 
with  a  person  at  the  close  of  an  evangelistic  appeal  to 
lead  that  person  to  a  definite  decision  for  Christ,  or 
quoting  Scripture  to  strangers  to  prove  some  theological 
point.  These  methods  are  used  with  success  by  many 
evangelists  and  Christian  workers.  But  personal  work 
is  something  far  greater  and  better. 

Personal  work  means  the  winning  of  an  individual  to 
Christ  and  his  way  of  living  through  the  personal  effort 
of  another.  Personal  work  is  at  the  basis  of  any  suc- 
cessful campaign  for  the  evangelism  of  youth.  It  is  the 
personal  example,  teaching,  and  encouragement  of  par- 
ents and  teachers  that  lead  many  to  accept  Jesus  as  Sav- 
iour and  Lord.  It  is  always  necessary  to  see  parents 
50 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  51 

after  or  better  still  before  a  decision  or  declaration  day. 
The  home's  help  is  essential. 

Any  one  who  has  conducted  special  meetings  knows 
that  it  is  quite  easy  to  secure  the  open  and  free  decision 
of  children,  but  the  older  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
do  not  come  forward  so  readily.  This  is  partly  due  to 
their  age.  In  the  case  of  such  young  people  the  decision 
can  often  be  secured  through  a  personal  interview.  A 
public  confession  will  readily  follow.  With  young  people 
in  late  high  school  and  college,  the  interview  method  is  the 
best.  With  young  people  who  are  at  work,  and  with 
parents,  an  appointment  in  their  home  or  in  some  quiet 
place  is  by  far  the  best  method  to  employ. 

Others  in  the  church  besides  the  pastor  should  be  per- 
sonal workers.  He  will  of  course  be  the  leader  in  this 
work  and  will  have  many  personal  interviews,  but  in 
every  church  there  should  be  an  increasing  number  who 
are  trained  to  do  this  work  and  who  will  do  it.  Teachers 
and  parents  should  be  personal  workers.  Young  people 
and  even  boys  and  girls  can  be  taught  how  to  win  others 
to  Christ. 

Jestis  was  a  personal  worker.  Several  of  his  apostles 
were  won  through  this  method.  Study  carefully  John 
1  :  35-51 ;  Matt.  4  :  18-22;  Matt.  9:9;  Luke  5  :  27-32. 

Examples  of  Jesus  as  a  personal  worker.  Study  care- 
fully (1)  Jesus  using  his  lunch  hour,  John  4  :  4-26;  (2) 
an  evening  interview,  John  3  :  1-21 ;  (3)  an  interview  in 
a  home,  Luke  19  :  1-10. 

Creating  a  Background  for  Successful  Personal  Work 

Any  one  who  has  tried  to  do  personal  work  will  remem- 
ber how  much  easier  it  is  to  approach  people  and  to  win 


/ 


52  Evangelism  of  Youth 

them  in  some  places  than  in  others.  Where  there  is  a 
strong  vigorous  church  in  a  community,  or  when  there  is 
a  general  evangelistic  campaign  in  progress,  or  during 
certain  seasons  such  as  Christmas  or  Easter,  personal 
work  is  easiest.  The  reason  for  this  is  the  general 
background  of  religious  thought  and  conviction  created 
by  the  strong  church,  the  evangelistic  campaign,  or  the 
world-wide  observance  of  certain  religious  seasons  such 
as  Christmas  or  Easter.  Before  one  engages  in  personal 
work  it  is  often  best  to  create  a  strong  religious  atmos- 
phere in  the  church  and  throughout  the  community.  Get 
people  to  think.  Make  the  religion  of  Jesus  attractive 
and  something  to  be  greatly  desired. 

Self -preparation  for  Personal  Work.  He  who  would 
win  others  must  first  prepare  himself.  There  are  certain 
general  rules  of  approach  that  every  personal  worker 
should  know  and  observe.  His  own  religious  life  must 
be  strong  and  positive.  To  this  end  he  must  give  himself 
to  prayer  and  to  Bible  study.  The  Bible  is  the  sure  guide 
in  matters  of  religious  life  and  conduct.  If  he  knows 
his  Bible  so  that  he  can  supplement  his  own  appeal  with 
a  positive  statement  from  Scripture,  he  has  greatly 
strengthened  his  argument.  Then  too  the  personal 
worker  must  be  rested  physically,  so  as  to  present  the 
attractive  Christ  attractively  and  lovingly  to  others. 

Church  Preparation  for  Personal  Work.  Some 
churches  need  a  great  deal  of  instruction.  They  have 
depended  so  long  upon  high  pressure  evangelistic  methods 
that  the  simple  ways  of  Jesus  in  personal  work  do  not 
appeal  to  them.  Then,  too,  members  of  the  church  need 
to  realize  that  every  member  of  the  church  is  supposed 
to  be  a  soul-winner.     Too  often  this  work  is  all  turned 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  53 

over  to  the  pastor.  It  will  greatly  aid  in  this  work  if 
every  department  of  the  church  is  active  and  the  church 
has  a  real  program  for  boys  and  girls  and  young  people. 

Good-will  of  the  Community.  Some  churches  stand 
well  in  a  community.  Other  churches  have  lost  the 
favor  and  good-will  of  the  people.  If  a  church  wants 
the  good-will  of  the  community,  it  can  get  and  hold  it 
more  quickly  if  it  has  a  real  program  of  service  and  if 
it  ministers  to  youth.  Through  good  publicity,  through 
service  rendered,  and  through  distribution  of  literature  a 
whole  community  can  become  interested  in  a  given  church 
or  group  of  churches. 

Preparation  for  a  Personal  Interview.  A  good  per- 
sonal worker  does  not  pick  up  a  stranger  and  begin  to 
talk  religion.  This  can  sometimes  be  done  effectively, 
but  the  best  result  comes  when  the  personal  worker  studies 
the  person  whom  he  would  win  and  becomes  well  ac- 
quainted with  him.  Through  a  letter,  through  invitations 
to  special  services  in  the  church,  and  through  literature 
selected  to  meet  the  needs  of  that  person,  the  way  can  be 
prepared  for  a  personal  interview.  Friendship  can  be 
cultivated.  It  is  easier  to  win  another  to  Christ  if  that 
person  first  knows  you  and  really  respects  and  cares  for 
you. 

Personal  Work  as  Christian  Salesmanship 

A  good  personal  worker  must  be  a  good  salesman. 
The  same  principles  which  enable  a  man  to  sell  goods  to 
another  are  applicable  to  personal  work ;  with  this  advan- 
tage, that  the  Christian  religion  is  the  greatest  commodity 
that  one  person  can  offer  to  another.  A  big  business 
man  was  giving  instructions  to  his  salesmen.     He  gave 


54  Evangelism  of  Youth 

them  four  simple  rules  of  salesmanship:  (1)  Know  your- 
self ;  (2)  know  your  prospect ;  (3)  know  your  goods ;  (4) 
never  give  up.  These  four  rules  are  so  good  that  I  give 
them  to  you  for  your  guidance  as  Christian  workers : 

Know  Yourself.  What  are  your  weak  points  ?  Where 
is  your  strength?  Is  your  health  at  its  best?  Are  you 
neat,  clean,  and  attractive  personally?  Apply  the  golden 
rule.  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them."  How  do  you  like  to  have  people 
approach  and  treat  you  ?  The  more  you  study  yourself 
and  the  laws  of  your  mind,  the  better  will  you  under- 
stand other  people.  When  you  interview  another,  if  you 
will  put  yourself  in  his  place,  the  better  you  can  help  him. 
A  personal  experience  goes  a  long  way.  If  you  know 
what  Jesus  has  done  for  you,  if  you  find  him  a  constant 
inspiration  and  help,  and  if  you  give  him  your  personal 
endorsement,  it  will  go  a  long  way  toward  helping  some 
one  else  to  accept  him. 

Know  Your  Prospe'ct.  Know  all  you  can  about  the 
person  whom  you  would  win  for  Christ.  Know  his  name, 
address,  and  business.  Know  his  family.  Know  his 
friends,  his  hobbies,  his  ambitions,  his  weaknesses,  and 
his  good  points.  The  more  you  know  the  more  intelli- 
gently you  can  present  Christ.  This  may  take  time. 
You  may  need  to  cultivate  the  person's  friendship.  You 
call  to  see  him.  You  find  visitors  there.  Make  a  social 
call  and  come  another  time.  Sometimes  a  definite  ap- 
pointment to  talk  over  this  question  will  be  the  best  pro- 
cedure. If  you  are  dealing  with  young  people  know 
the  seasons  of  the  soul.  Know  the  interests  and  ideals 
of  young  people. 

Know  Your  Goods.    Know  all  you  can  about  your 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  55 

goods.  The  more  you  know  about  Jesus  and  his  life 
and  work,  the  more  you  know  about  people  who  have 
been  saved  and  helped  by  Jesus,  the  better  personal 
worker  you  will  be.  Every  day  new  questions  will  come 
up.  This  will  drive  you  to  your  Bible  and  to  prayer  to 
know  the  facts  as  they  are.  You  must  know  Christ  your- 
self before  you  can  truly  recommend  him  to  another. 

Do  Not  Give  Up.  A  good  salesman  sells  goods.  If 
he  does  not  succeed  the  first  time,  he  tries  again.  He 
knows  how  far  to  press  and  when  to  stop.  Good  sales 
have  been  lost  because  the  salesman  talked  too  much  or 
too  long.  A  good  personal  worker  wins  souls.  In  inter- 
viewing another  for  Christ,  we  first  implant  the  idea  in 
the  mind.  We  keep  it  there  by  a  word,  a  letter,  or 
select  literature.  We  accompany  this  idea  with  some 
favorable  emotional  reaction.  The  human  will  responds 
to  two  things,  ideas  and  emotions.  Now  if  we  can  keep 
the  idea  of  Jesus  before  a  person's  mind  and  at  the  same 
time  secure  some  happy  emotional  reaction  the  mind  is 
sure  to  act  favorably.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  fail  to 
keep  the  idea  before  the  person  or  if  there  is  an  unhappy 
emotional  reaction,  then  the  will  decides  against  Christ. 

An  insurance  agent  once  said  that  he  had  just  secured 
certain  business  that  he  had  been  following  up  for  ten 
years.  The  vice-president  of  a  large  city  bank  reports 
that  it  takes  two  and  a  half  years  on  the  average  to  secure  ^/ 
each  new  depositor.  If  insurance  agents  can  wait  and 
work  for  ten  years,  why  cannot  we  work  as  long  and  as 
hard  for  Christ  ?  If  a  bank  can  take  two  and  a  half  years 
to  secure  each  new  depositor,  why  cannot  the  Christian 
worker  take  as  long  a  time,  if  necessary,  to  win  a  friend 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 


56  Evangelism  of  Youth 


Rules  for  a  Personal  Interview 

Have  Faith.  Believe  that  you  can  win  that  person  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let  him  know  that  you  fully 
expect  him  to  become  a  Christian.  Believe  in  the  gospel 
as  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation/'  Believe  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  already  working  in  the  heart.  Find  the 
degree  of  faith  of  the  other.  Tell  that  which  you  believe. 
Emphasize  the  positive.  Get  out  of  the  realm  of  doubt 
and  question.     Have  faith. 

Use  Tact.  Perhaps  good  common  sense  is  as  much 
needed  in  personal  work  as  in  any  other  phase  of  Chris- 
tian work.  To  say  the  right  word  and  not  too  much,  to 
say  enough  and  then  stop,  to  press  the  claims  of  Christ 
and  yet  give  the  person  time  and  a  chance  to  decide  for 
himself — this  is  an  art.  Perhaps  tact  is  needed  in  per- 
sonal work  more  than  anywhere  else.  Who  has  not  seen 
good  people  with  more  zeal  than  knowledge  destroy  their 
chance  to  win  for  Christ  by  lack  of  tact.  Remember  we 
are  to  win  for  Christ,  never  to  force  or  drive  or  frighten 
a  person  into  the  kingdom. 

Do  Not  Argue.  I  can  remember  the  men  that  used  to 
gather  around  the  kitchen  stove  at  my  grandfather's  and 
argue.  They  never  decided  anything.  Each  one  was 
more  set  in  his  own  belief  after  the  argument  than  at  the 
beginning.  No  one  has  ever  been  argued  into  the  Chris- 
tian life.  Definite  problems  need  to  be  met,  objections 
faced,  and  difficulties  overcome.  A  positive  statement  of 
our  own  belief  is  worth  a  hundred  arguments. 

Do  Not  Knock.  Every  man  has  some  ideas  or  institu- 
tions that  are  precious  to  him.  A  personal  worker  only 
arouses  antagonism  by  knocking  these.     A  good  sales- 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  57 

man  does  not  sell  his  goods  by  knocking  his  rival  or  his 
rival's  products.  He  sells  his  own  goods  on  their  own 
merits.  He  talks  them  up  for  all  he  is  worth.  The  gos- 
pel of  Jesus  must  win  on  its  own  merits. 

Find  a  Common  Ground.  Be  sure  you  are  both  on 
common  ground.  It  is  possible  for  a  personal  worker  to 
talk  in  terms  that  are  entirely  unfamiliar  to  the  other,  but 
there  is  always  some  interest  that  is  common.  Perhaps  it 
is  the  child  in  the  home,  the  welfare  of  the  community, 
interest  in  health,  a  desire  to  serve,  or  an  interest  in  the 
future  life.  Find  a  common  interest.  It  is  the  business 
of  the  personal  worker  to  find  this  common  meeting- 
ground.  Then  he  can  lead  the  other  into  the  higher 
ways  of  God. 

A  young  missionary  was  working  in  a  rural  community. 
The  church  life  had  been  neglected  for  many  years. 
There  were  only  a  few  members  in  the  only  church  in 
town  and  a  small  Sunday  school.  She  began  to  work  in 
the  homes.  She  found  a  fine  group  of  high  school  girls. 
One  day  she  arranged  for  a  meeting  with  them  in  the 
church.  At  the  appointed  hour  not  one  appeared.  She 
was  not  discouraged.  She  asked  one  of  the  girls  if  she 
would  be  willing  for  the  other  girls  to  come  to  her  home 
some  week-night  to  paint  weeds.  This  was  a  new  fad. 
She  then  called  upon  a  few  of  the  girls,  told  them  that 
she  could  paint  weeds  and  would  show  them  how.  She 
took  several  of  the  girls  to  the  fields  for  the  weeds.  On 
the  given  night  ten  girls  came.  They  had  a  wonderful 
time.  Not  a  word  was  spoken  of  religion.  A  few  days 
afterward  these  same  girls  appointed  a  meeting  at  an- 
other girl's  home  and  invited  the  missionary  to  come  and 
talk  to  them  about  the  Christian  life. 


58  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Use  Honest  Commendation.  Nobody  likes  to  be 
scolded  or  told  about  faults.  "  Everybody  appreciates 
being  appreciated."  There  is  something  good  in  every- 
body. There  is  something  that  can  be  commended  in  all. 
A  personal  worker  goes  into  a  home.  There  is  a  baby 
there.  She  talks  about  the  baby.  The  mother's  heart  is 
opened.  A  boy  is  the  way  to  a  father's  heart.  Rabbits, 
chickens,  baseball,  or  swimming  may  be  the  door  to  a 
boy's  confidence.  Flattery  is  polite  lying.  Flattery  never 
helps  a  personal  worker,  but  honest  commendation  is  a 
kpy  that  will  unlock  many  a  heart. 

Be  Interested  in  the  Things  that  Interest  your  Prospect, 
Have  you  ever  had  any  one  sit  down  beside  you  and  talk 
about  things  that  did  not  interest  you  ?  What  a  dreadful 
bore  such  a  person  was !  You  will  be  just  as  boresome 
to  another  if  you  do  not  find  that  one's  interest.  A  per- 
son who  would  interview  a  boy  must  know  boys  and  be 
interested  in  boy  life.  One  who  would  interview  young 
people  must  know  young  people  and  be  interested  in  the 
special  interests  of  youth.  Find  the  other's  interest,  use 
that  as  the  common  ground  and  point  of  contact.  A  boy 
is  interested  in  radio.  Vou  want  to  win  him  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  You  study  up  on  the  radio.  When  you 
meet  him,  you  introduce  the  subject  of  radio.  If  you 
talk  to  him  about  his  pet  hobby  you  can  also  talk  to  him 
about  the  Christian  life. 

Pray  Together.  If  possible,  pray  together  with  your 
friend.  Speak  to  the  heavenly  Father  about  him  by 
name.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  wise  to  do  this  at  first, 
surely  not  if  others  were  around ;  but  some  time  get  your 
friend  to  kneel  with  you.  Get  him  to  open  his  own  heart 
in  prayer.    A  little  girl  won  so  many  others  to  Christ 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  59 

that  her  pastor  asked  her  how  she  did  it.  She  said :  "  I 
ask  them  if  they  want  to  be  Christians.  They  always  say 
yes.  I  ask  them  to  kneel  with  me.  I  pray  first.  Then  I 
ask  them  to  pray.  They  pray,  and  when  they  get  up 
they  are  Christians."  She  was  right.  When  a  person 
prays,  God  can  then  do  for  them  what  he  never  could 
do  before. 

I  once  knew  a  fine  young  man  whom  I  was  very 
anxious  to  win  for  Christ.  I  had  spoken  to  him^  about  it. 
He  was  interested,  but  could  not  quite  decide.  One  day 
I  said :  "  I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me.  I  want 
you  to  enter  into  a  covenant  of  prayer  with  me.  Each 
night  as  you  go  to  bed,  I  want  you  to  kneel  and  pray  this 
prayer,  *  Dear  heavenly  Father,  show  me  just  what  you 
want  me  to  do.'  Each  night  I  will  pray  for  you,  asking 
God  to  make  it  perfectly  plain  just  what  he  wants  you 
to  do."  He  promised  to  do  this.  In  three  days  he  came 
to  my  home.  I  knew  what  had  happened  by  the  look 
on  his  face.  He  said,  "  Pastor,  I  know  what  I  ought  to 
do,  and  I  am  ready  to  do  it." 

Follow  Up.  It  is  very  seldom  that  you  win  your  pros- 
pect the  first  time  you  speak  to  him  about  becoming  a 
Christian.  Tactfully  and  lovingly  follow  up  until  the 
supreme  choice  has  been  made. 

Prayer,  Pray  before  you  interview  a  person.  Pray 
for  guidance  as  you  present  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Pray 
daily.  A  prayer  list  of  friends  is  part  of  the  equipment 
of  every  personal  worker.  Cross  off  from  time  to  time 
those  that  have  become  followers  of  Christ.  Keep  such  a 
list  in  your  Bible.  It  will  strengthen  your  faith,  deepen 
your  prayer  life,  and  make  you  more  successful  as  a 
soul-winner. 


60  Evangelism  of  Youth 

A  Campaign  of  Personal  Work 

The  pastor  had  taken  his  Sunday  school  teachers,  some 
of  his  officers,  and  a  few  of  his  young  people  and  other 
members  of  the  church  through  the  above  course  of  in- 
struction. They  were  now  ready  to  test  out  in  practise 
the  plan. 

A  List  of  Prospects.  In  the  meantime  he  had  secured 
through  the  Sunday  school  survey,  through  his  parish  list, 
and  through  the  ushers  a  list  of  possible  members  for  the 
church.  This  included  three  groups  of  people:  (1) 
Those  who  had  never  accepted  Jesus  as  personal  Saviour 
and  Lord;  (2)  those  who  were  members  of  a  church  in 
another  place,  but  who  ought  to  bring  letters  of  transfer; 
(3)  those  who  had  been  church-members,  but  who,  for 
various  reasons,  had  lost  their  membership. 

Cultivating  the  Prospects.  These  people  had  been  cul- 
tivated through  invitations  by  the  pastor  and  the  people 
of  the  church  to  special  and  regular  church  services; 
through  literature  which  told  of  the  way  of  salvation,  of 
the  beliefs  of  the  church  and  the  method  of  membership ; 
and  through  a  personal  letter  by  the  pastor  asking  them 
to  give  the  Christ  Hfe  most  careful  consideration.  These 
people  had  also  been  on  the  prayer  list  of  some  one  of  the 
workers. 

A  Week  of  Personal  Work 

For  one  week  all  night  services  of  the  church  were  set 
aside.  Instead  of  asking  the  people  to  come  to  the  meet- 
ing-house the  church  went  to  the  people  in  their  own 
homes.  Each  evening  at  6.30  the  personal  workers  met 
in  the  church  for  supper.     Following  the  supper  was  a 


Personal  Work  for  Souls  61 

period  of  prayer.  The  pastor  gave  out  definite  assign- 
ments. The  workers  went  out  two  by  two  for  personal 
work  in  the  homes.  The  next  night  the  workers  reported 
the  results  of  their  interviews,  received  new  assignments, 
and  went  out  again.  In  almost  every  case  the  personal 
workers  interviewed  people  whom  they  knew  and  for 
whom  they  had  prayed.  Teachers  visited  their  pupils, 
meeting  thus  in  the  evening  the  parents.  Some  of  the 
women  teachers  used  their  afternoons  to  do  more  calling. 
A  few  who  could  not  go  out  wrote  letters  or  talked  with 
friends  over  the  telephone.  As  these  workers  came  back, 
night  by  night,  with  their  reports,  it  seemed  almost  as  if 
Jesus  was  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  and  they  were 
telling  of  the  great  things  which  had  been  accomplished 
in  his  name.  Decisions  had  been  made  for  the  Christian 
life.  Christians  were  sending  for  their  church  letters. 
Christian  vows  were  renewed. 

The  greatest  benefit  of  the  week  of  personal  visitations 
in  the  homes  was  upon  the  workers  themselves.  All  were 
enthusiastic  and  happy  over  their  reception  in  the  homes. 
Truly  there  is  no  joy  like  the  joy  of  a  soul-winner.  It 
was  quite  evident  that  this  church  would  never  go  back  to 
its  indiflference  in  soul-winning.  No  longer  would  the 
pastor  be  the  only  one  doing  personal  work.  Those  who 
had  tested  the  joy  of  winning  others  through  prayer  and 
personal  work  resolved  that  this  kind  of  work  should  be 
carried  on  all  through  the  year. 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

Who  are  some  of  the  great  personal  workers  you  have 
known.     Make  a  list  of  great  personal  workers. 


62  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Give  a  personal  illustration  of  some  person  who  brought 
a  message  of  help  to  you  in  your  youth.  Tell  about  some 
one  you  have  tried  to  lead  to  Christ. 

Why  is  prayer  a  requisite  for  good  personal  work? 

Why  is  faith  necessary?  Give  an  example  of  Jesus* 
faith  in  his  disciples.  Give  an  example  of  some  one's 
faith  in  you.  Give  illustration  of  your  own  faith  in  some 
person. 

What  use  can  be  made  of  the  Bible  in  personal  work  ? 

Who  are  the  best  people  to  talk  to  children  ? 

Who  are  the  best  ones  to  approach  men?     Boys? 

Why  are  the  characteristics  which  make  a  good  sales- 
man useful  in  personal  work? 

REFERENCES 

"  Enlisting  for  Christ  and  the  Church,"  Johnston. 
"  Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism,"  Goodell. 
"  How  Can  I  Lead  My  Pupils  to  Christ?  "  Pell. 
"  Individual  Work  for  Individuals,"  Trumbull. 
"  Studies  for  Personal  Workers,"  Johnston. 
**  The  Human  Element  in  the  Making  of  a  Christian," 
Conde. 


CHAPTER  VII 
DECISION  DAY 

WORKERS*  CONFERENCE  ON  EVANGELISM 
IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

It  was  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Sunday 
school  workers.  Because  of  the  interest  which  had  de- 
veloped in  the  entire  church  in  the  campaign  of  Evangel- 
ism of  Youth  there  was  a  large  attendance  of  officers, 
teachers,  and  members  of  the  young  people's  and  adult 
classes.  There  was  a  delightful  period  of  fellowship 
around  the  supper-table.  Reports  were  made  of  the  past 
month  by  the  various  officers  and  heads  of  departments. 
It  was  evident  that  there  had  been  a  considerable  increase 
in  the  attendance  and  in  the  efficiency  of  the  school.  Such 
business  as  needed  action  from  the  body  was  quickly 
cared  for. 

The  superintendent  said :  "  I  have  become  greatly  in- 
terested in  our  evangelistic  campaign.  I  have  asked  Miss 
Jones,  one  of  our  teachers,  to  speak  on  *  The  Sunday 
School  Teacher  as  a  Winner  of  Souls,'  and  our  pastor  to 
outline  our  proposed  campaign  as  far  as  it  affects  the 
Sunday  school,  but  before  they  speak  I  want  to  read  you 
a  few  words  from  a  Sunday  school  superintendent,  Frank 
L.  Brown,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 
Homiletic  Review,  in  an  article  entitled  *  The  Sunday 
School  as  a  Gold-mine.'  " 

63 


64  Evangelism  of  Youth 

The  Sunday  School  as  a  Gold-mine.  **  If  a  business 
man  received  from  one  department  of  his  business  ninety 
per  cent,  of  his  entire  profits,  ninety  per  cent,  of  his 
trained  workers,  and  practically  all  his  new  business,  he 
would  pay  considerable  attention  to  that  department. 
Especially  would  this  be  so  if  that  department  was  con- 
suming only  ten  per  cent,  of  his  capital  and  time.  The 
probabilities  are  that  he  would  cut  out  or  cut  down  the 
unprofitable  departments  and  concentrate  his  capital  and 
energy  in  the  fruitful  departments.  The  Sunday  school 
is  the  gold-mine  of  the  church.  The  pastor  and  the 
church  have  put  into  its  development  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
church's  income,  ten  per  cent,  of  the  time  of  the  pastor 
and  membership,  and  it  has  yielded  ninety  per  cent,  of 
new  members,  workers,  and  new  home  contacts.  The 
dividends  have  a  long  record  of  steady  payments.  Good 
church  strategy  would  suggest  that  the  pastor  and  the 
church  properly  provide  this  enormously  productive  de- 
partment with  equipment,  leadership,  hard  thinking,  and 
broad  planning." 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  TEACHER  AS  A 
WINNER  OF  SOULS 

A  Paper  Presented  by  Miss  Jones 

Every  Sunday  School  Teacher  an  Evangelist.  "  Every 
follower  of  Jesus  is  expected  to  win  others  for  the 
Master.  This  is  particularly  true  of  a  Sunday  school 
teacher.  In  fact  I  do  not  believe  a  teacher  is  really 
teaching  who  is  not  winning  his  pupils  to  Christ — and 
developing  them  into  Christlike  character  and  service. 
*  Without  learning  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  there  is  no 


Decision  Day  65 

teaching  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.'  If  this  be  true,  then 
as  Sunday  school  teachers  we  are  not  teaching  unless 
Jesus,  whom  we  teach,  is  accepted  by  our  pupils  and  his 
way  of  life  adopted. 

Education  and  Evangelism.  "  I  can  see  no  conflict  be- 
tween education  and  evangelism.  With  education  there 
can  be  intelligent  decision  for  Christ.  Without  education 
there  can  be  no  development  into  character  and  service. 
Jesus  himself  clearly  implies  this  when  he  says  to  his 
disciples,  *  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations.* 

Winning  Through  Teaching.  **  In  the  Sunday  school 
we  have  pupils  in  the  age  when  it  is  easiest  and  most 
natural  to  win  them  to  the  Christian  life.  We  have  an 
opportunity  to  teach  and  to  practise  Christian  living. 
We  have  the  obligation  to  take  these  who  have  accepted 
Christ  and  teach  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
Christ  has  commanded.  Teaching  is  the  basis  of  an 
intelligent  decision  for  Christ,  and  teaching  accompanied 
by  practise  in  Christian  living  is  the  best  way  to  develop 
Christlike  service  and  character. 

The  Bible  the  Text-book.  "  In  the  Sunday  school  we 
have  the  Bible  as  our  main  text-book.  We  select  from  it 
those  parts  which  are  best  adapted  to  meet  the  spiritual 
needs  of  our  pupils  in  their  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment. We  teachers  find  the  Book  the  source  of  our  own 
inspiration  and  the  abundant  supply  of  spiritual  food 
for  our  own  soul  life.  It  is  highly  important  that  both 
teacher  and  pupil  study,  reverence,  and  love  the  Bible.  I 
have  noticed  that  when  a  person  begins  to  study  the  Bible 
reverently  and  prayerfully,  it  is  easy  to  win  that  one  to  an 
open  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  Paul 
in  writing  to  the  young  teacher  Timothy  said :  *  From  a 


66  Evangelism  of  Youth 

babe  thou  hast  known  the  sacred  writings  which  are  able 
to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Every  scripture,  inspired  of  God,  is  also  profitable  for 
teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction, 
which  is  in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
complete,  furnished  completely  into  every  good  work. 

The  Teacher  Must  Know.  "  The  Sunday  school 
teacher  who  would  win  his  pupils  to  Christ  must  know 
intimately  each  member  of  his  class.  He  must  know  the 
full  name  and  address,  the  home  life,  the  school  life,  the 
special  interest,  and  the  companions  of  each  pupil.  He 
must  be  a  genuine  friend  and  have  absolute  faith  in  each 
member  of  the  class.  This  requires  much  more  than  a 
half -hour  teaching  period  on  Sunday.  He  who  would 
teach  a  class  in  the  Sunday  school  must  spend  hours  and 
days  living,  playing,  and  working  with  his  pupils. 

The  Teacher  Must  be  a  Personal  Worker.  **  The  Sun- 
day school  teacher  who  would  win  for  Christ  must  be  a 
personal  worker.  As  a  personal  worker  he  must  know 
'  the  seasons  of  the  soul '  about  which  our  pastor  talks  so 
much.  He  must  work  with  God  in  his  divine  seasons 
and  processes.  He  must  know  the  wonderful  art  of  pre- 
senting the  attractive  Christ  in  a  most  attractive  manner 
at  the  right  time.  A  teacher  of  a  class  of  ten-year-old 
girls  does  not  try  to  win  to  Christ  in  the  same  manner  as 
a  teacher  of  a  class  of  sixteen-year-old  high  school  girls. 
Nor  does  a  teacher  of  twelve-year-old  boys  present  Christ 
in  the  same  manner  as  a  teacher  of  college  men,  but  each 
teacher  understands  God's  laws  of  growth  and  develop- 
ment and  presents  Christ  in  the  manner  most  attractive 
to  the  age  of  development  in  which  the  pupil  is  living. 
Find  out  what  God  is  doing;  then  help. 


Decision  Day  67 

"  For  nine-  or  ten-year  old  children  the  best  way  is  to 
bring  them  into  the  warm,  loving  Christian  atmosphere  of 
home  and  church.  Their  hearts  will  open  to  Christ  as 
naturally  as  a  flower  to  the  sun.  For  those  around  the 
twelfth  year  the  biggest  appeal  is  *  This  is  the  right  thing 
for  you  to  do.'  For  the  fifteen-  and  sixteen-year-old 
there  is  the  appeal  of  the  social,  the  emotional,  or  the 
ideal.  In  this  age  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  win  several 
young  people  out  of  the  same  class,  or  through  the  draw- 
ing power  of  the  love  of  Christ,  or  through  the  appeal  to 
their  idealism  and  their  desire  to  serve.  For  the  young 
man  and  young  woman  in  late  high  school  or  college  there 
are  two  questions  which  they  ask  of  our  religion:  Is  it 
reasonable?    Is  it  practical  and  of  service? 

"  As  Sunday  school  teachers  we  have  the  greatest  op- 
portunity for  real  evangelism  that  is  to  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  world  today.  In  this  church  every  one  of  us 
teachers  should  have  the  evangelistic  spirit  and  not  be 
content  until  every  member  of  our  class  is  a  follower  of 
Jesus  Christ/^ 

PREPARING  FOR  A  DECISION  DAY  IN  THE 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

The  Pastor's  Message  to  His  Teachers  and  Officers 

"  Our  superintendent  has  rightly  emphasized  the 
Sunday  school  as  the  greatest  field  for  evangelism. 
The  teacher  who  has  just  spoken  has  told  most  beauti- 
fully and  effectively  that  it  is  the  task  of  each  teacher 
to  win  his  or  her  pupils  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If 
these  things  are  true  then  we  should  organize  our 
work  to  this  end. 


68  Evangelism  of  Youth 

"  There  are  five  things  that  I  am  asking  each  teacher 
of  every  class  above  the  Primary  Department  to  do: 
(1)  Make  a  survey  of  your  class;  (2)  make  a  prayer 
list ;  (3)  hold  personal  interviews ;  (4)  secure  one  hun- 
dred per  cent,  attendance,  and  (5)  conduct  a  careful 
follow-up. 

Make  a  Survey  of  Your  Class 

Name 

Address  

Class  in  S.  S Age 

Christian  ?   Member  of  Church  ? 

Growing  in  the  Christian  life  ?  

Father  Christian  ?    Member  what  Church  ? 

Mother  Christian  ?  Member  what  Church  ? 

Chum  Christian  ? Member  what  Church  ? 

What  greatest  obstacle  to  Christian  life  ?  

What  the  most  natural  approach  ?  


Who  has  most  influence? 


"  Take  this  card  and  secure  these  facts  about  every 
member  of  your  class.  Do  not  give  the  card  to  the  pupils 
to  fill  out.  You  can  ask  them  part  of  the  questions. 
Better  still  make  a  personal  call  upon  the  parents.  Ex- 
plain to  them  your  desire  to  know  certain  facts  about  each 
child  so  that  you  can  the  more  intelligently  teach.  After 
the  card  is  filled  out  make  two  duplicates — one  for  me  as 
the  pastor  and  the  other  for  the  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school. 


Decision  Day  69 

A  Prayer  List 

"  Put  every  member  of  your  class  on  a  prayer  list. 

My  Class 

1.  Name  

Address    

2.  Name  

Address    

3.  Name  

Address    

4.  Name  

Address    

5.  Name  

Address 

6.  Name  

Address    

My  purpose:  The  Spirit  helping  me,  I  will  pray  and  work  for 
the  salvation  of  the  above-named  persons. 

Name   

"  Use  this  form,  unless  you  have  a  better  plan  for  your 
class.  This  prayer  list  gives  an  opportunity  for  you 
to  secure  the  pastor,  some  friend,  or  the  Christian 
members  of  the  class  as  intercessors  with  you.  In 
this  way  you  can  claim  the  promise  of  Jesus  himself. 
*  Again  I  say  unto  you  that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on 
earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall 


70  Evangelism  of  Youth 

be    done    for   them   of    my   Father   who   is   in   heaven  * 
(Matt.  18  :  19,  20). 

"  You  will  notice  that  you  will  have  two  prayer  lists, 
one  of  the  entire  membership  of  your  class  for  whom 
you  pray  daily  by  name,  and  a  smaller  list  for  whom  you 
enter  into  a  covenant  of  intercession  with  some  other 
Christian  seeking  to  win  them  to  faith  in  the  living  Christ. 

Personal  Interviews 

"  After  you  have  made  the  survey  and  know  the  facts, 
and  after  you  have  prayed  definitely  and  by  name  for 
your  pupils,  then  see  each  one  of  them  personally  about 
their  relationship  to  Christ.  Do  not  do  this  before  others 
in  the  class.  Of  course  your  teaching  will  be  more 
spiritual,  more  personal,  and  more  urgent.  Do  not  inter- 
view your  pupil  before  parents  or  other  adult  persons. 
Seek  a  personal  interview.  Of  course  you  should  secure 
the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  parents,  and  a  frank  talk 
with  them  will  often  help.  All  Christian  parents  should 
have  the  supreme  joy  of  winning  their  own  children  to 
Jesus  Christ.  The  unfolding  of  the  spiritual  life  depends 
so  much  upon  home  surrounding  and  cooperation  that  the 
active  interest  of  the  parents  should  be  enlisted. 

Pray  Together.  "  In  securing  this  personal  interview 
you  can  often  make  an  appointment  to  meet  you  at  your 
own  home,  or  to  take  a  ride  or  a  walk.  If  it  is  possible, 
have  a  word  of  prayer  together  before  you  part.  In  your 
prayr  be  definite  and  personal  as  you  talk  to  the  heavenly 
Father.  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  made  on  me 
when  a  friend  of  mine  included  me  by  name  in  his  prayer 
one  day  in  his  study.  Get  the  pupil  to  offer  a  brief 
prayer  for  himself. 


Decision  Day  71 

Believe.  ''  Have  faith.  Check  off  from  time  to  time 
those  on  your  prayer  list  who  accept  Christ.  Get  new 
pupils.     Add  them  to  the  list. 

One  Hundred  Per  Cent.  Attendance 

**  Secure  the  attendance  of  every  member  of  your  class 
on  Decision  Day.  Write  a  personal  letter  to  each  mem- 
ber of  the  class.  Produce  a  class  spirit  and  loyalty  so 
that  every  member  will  be  working  for  a  one  hundred  per 
cent,  attendance  on  the  given  day.  If  this  day  is  prepared 
for  as  I  have  thus  indicated  we  will  have  a  great  blessing, 
and  many  will  openly  confess  their  faith  in  Christ. 

Conduct  a  Careful  Follow-up 

"  Follow  up  each  pupil  who  decides  for  Christ  until  he 
is  a  member  of  the  church  and  developing  into  Christlike 
character  and  service." 

THE  DECISION  DAY 

For  several  weeks  the  teachers  and  officers  of  the  Free- 
town Sunday  school  had  been  doing  the  work  which  the 
pastor  had  outlined  for  them.  Decisions  for  Christ  had 
been  made  through  the  personal  work  of  parents  and  of 
teachers.  The  campaign  of  personal  evangelism  by  the 
church  during  the  week  preceding  had  been  more  success- 
ful than  any  one  had  anticipated.  There  had  come  a 
blessing  into  the  hearts  of  the  teachers  and  other  per- 
sonal workers  that  had  made  them  very  happy  and  eager 
to  win  others. 

The  attendance  on  Decision  Day  was  large.  The 
teachers  and  pupils  understood  fully  the  nature  of  the 


72  Evangelism  of  Youth 

service.  The  opening  worship  was  unusually  spiritual. 
It  seemed  as  if  God  was,  indeed,  present  with  his  children. 
Announcements,  records,  and  offerings  had  been  made. 
There  was  no  lesson  period.  The  entire  school  above  the 
age  of  eleven  met  in  a  common  assembly.  The  junior 
superintendent  was  conducting  a  similar  service  for  the 
juniors  in  the  junior  department  room.  The  superin- 
tendent asked  the  pastor  to  take  charge  of  the  Decision 
Service. 

The  pastor  said :'"  I  want  you  to  understand  the  nature 
of  this  service.  It  is  the  business  of  a  Sunday  school  to 
win  its  pupils  to  an  open  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  Saviour 
and  Lord  and  to  help  them  grow  into  Christians,  strong 
and  true.  Some  of  you  have  already  accepted  Jesus  as 
your  Saviour  through  the  personal  work  of  your  parents 
or  your  teachers.  Some  of  you  are  considering  seriously 
this  step.  '  With  the  heart  man  believeth,  with  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  unto  salvation.*  This  morning  we 
are  going  to  give  those  who  have  accepted  Jesus  as 
Saviour,  but  have  never  publicly  acknowledged  him,  an 
opportunity  to  declare  their  new-found  faith.  For  them 
this  will  be  a  Declaration  Day  Service.  There  are  others 
who  know  what  they  ought  to  do  and  will  take  this  oppor- 
tunity to  make  the  supreme  decision.  For  them  this  will 
be  a  Decision  Day. 

**  Many  years  ago  there  was  a  boy  whose  mother  loved 
him  very  much.  She  gave  him  good  food  and  clothing. 
She  taught  him  the  things  that  every  boy  should  know  in 
order  to  be  clean  and  strong,  but  above  all  she  taught  him 
of  the  good  and  the  mighty  God  whom  she  loved  and  in 
whom  she  trusted.  There  came  a  time  when  she  wanted 
him  to  know  more  about  this  good  God  than  she  felt  that 


Decision  Day  73 

she  could  tell  him,  so  she  sent  him  to  the  Temple  school 
to  be  taught  in  the  ways  of  God  and  to  serve  in  the 
Temple.  After  he  had  been  in  this  school  and  had  been 
taught  more  thoroughly  about  God,  one  night  as  he  was 
sleeping,  he  thought  that  he  heard  some  one  call  him. 
Having  been  trained  in  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience 
he  ran  quickly  to  the  head  teacher  and  said,  '  What  do 
you  want  ?  '  The  teacher,  who  was  an  old  man  named 
Eli,  said,  '  I  did  not  call  you,  go  back  and  go  to  sleep.' 
The  boy  went  back  and  soon  fell  asleep,  but  again  he 
heard  some  one  call  him  by  his  own  name.  He  ran  to 
the  teacher  and  said,  *  Here  am  I ;  what  do  you  want  ? ' 
*  I  called  you  not/  said  the  teacher,  *  lie  down  again.'  The 
third  time  he  heard  some  one  call  him.  He  knew  not  that 
it  was  God.  He  thought  it  was  his  teacher.  So  he  went 
the  third  time  to  Eli  and  said,  '  You  did  call.'  Then  the 
good  teacher  knew  that  God  was  calling  the  child.  So  he 
explained  to  him  that  it  was  God  calling  and  told  him  that 
if  God  called  again,  he  should  speak  right  up  and  say, 
'  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  is  listening.'  When  the 
boy  had  lain  down  and  was  asleep  he  heard  God  call  for 
the  fourth  time,  *  Samuel,  Samuel.'  Immediately  the  boy, 
Samuel,  said,  *  Tell  me  what  you  want.  Lord,  and  I  will 
do  it.'  God  told  him  what  he  wanted  him  to  do,  and  he 
did  it.  Because  he  heard  God  call  and  obeyed,  God  made 
of  him  a  good  and  useful  man,  a  great  prophet,  and  a 
helper  to  the  people. 

"  There  were  other  boys  in  the  same  school  under  the 
same  instruction.  They  did  not  hear  God  call,  or  if  they 
heard  they  did  not  obey.  They  became  wicked  men,  suf- 
fered shame,  brought  disgrace  upon  their  parents,  and 
never  did  anything  to  make  the  world  better  or  happier. 


74  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Sometimes  we  hear  God  call  us,  but  are  not  willing  to 
obey.  I  have  often  seen  a  certain  boy  do  that  very  thing. 
His  mother  would  come  to  the  door  and  call  loudly.  He 
heard  her  all  right,  but  instead  of  responding  to  her  call 
he  would  dodge  around  a  corner  or  hide  behind  other  chil- 
dren. He  was  not  willing  to  obey  his  mother.  All  the 
boys  and  girls  and  young  people  here  this  morning  have 
had  religious  training  from  your  parents.  Some  have 
had  much,  others  only  a  little.  Your  parents  have  wanted 
you  to  have  more  training  in  religious  things  than  they 
could  give  you,  so  they  sent  you  to  Sunday  school.  In 
the  course  of,  time  you  entered  this  school,  and  many  of 
you  have  been  coming  here  of  your  own  accord  for 
several  years. 

"  From  your  parents  and  your  teachers  in  Sunday 
school  you  have  learned  certain  definite  things  about  the 
Christian  life.  You  know  about  the  heavenly  Father, 
who  loves  you,  cares  for  you,  and  is  ever  near  to  help. 
You  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  sin,  which  destroys 
happiness  and  brings  trouble  and  keeps  you  from  doing 
good.  You  know  that  God  sent  Jesus  into  this  world  to 
save  people  from  sin.  You  know  that  Jesus  lived  among 
people,  teaching  them  and  showing  them  how  to  live  the 
right  kind  of  life,  that  he  went  so  far  as  to  die  on  the 
cross  as  a  sacrifice  for  us,  that  he  rose  from  the  dead 
and  is  now  the  living  Saviour  of  all  who  trust  in  him. 
You  know  that  Jesus  is  God's  love  gift  to  the  world,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  God  has  given  us  many  things  which 
are  good  and  which  help  us,  but  his  very  best  gift  to  us  is 
Jesus. 

"  I  have  a  watch  that  was  given  to  me  by  my  father 


Decision  Day  75 

and  mother  and  twin  sister  on  the  morning  that  I  was  to 
be  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry.  I  can  remember  that 
morning  as  though  it  was  this  morning.  Mother  had  a 
smile  on  her  face.  She  always  had  a  smile  when  she  had 
some  beautiful  secret,  which  she  was  trying  to  keep  from 
the  children.  So  I  knew  that  something  nice  was  coming, 
though  I  did  not  know  what  it  was.  She  handed  me  the 
watch  as  their  love  gift  to  me.  What  did  I  have  to  do  to 
make  it  mine? 

"  '  Take  it,'  said  a  boy. 

**Yes,  that  is  right.  I  took  it  and  thanked  each  one 
of  them.     Could  I  have  refused  it? 

Yes,  you  could,  but  you  didn't,'  said  another  lad. 

"  Yes,  I  could  have  refused  it,  but  say,  what  kind  of  a 
man  would  I  have  been  on  that  morning,  the  greatest 
day  in  my  life  and  one  of  the  great  moments  in  the  life 
of  my  parents,  if  I  had  said,  *  I  do  not  want  that  old 
thing  '  ?  Surely  not  worthy  to  be  ordained  as  a  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  Jesus  is  God's  love  gift.  God 
offers  him  to  each  one  of  us.  The  heavenly  Father  is 
speaking  to  us  at  this  very  moment  and  offering  Jesus  as 
our  Saviour.  How  can  we  have  this  love  gift  of  God  as 
our  very  own? 

"  *  Accept  him,'  said  a  boy. 

"  Yes,  just  that.  Accept  from  God's  own  hand  his  love 
gift.  Accept  Jesus  as  our  Saviour  from  sin.  His  way 
of  living  as  our  way  of  living,  and  his  constant  help  as 
our  help  as  long  as  we  live. 

"Can  we  refuse  him?  Yes,  we  can.  God  does  not 
force  his  gift  upon  us.  He  offers.  We  accept.  But 
what  kind  of  people  will  we  be  if,  knowing  God's  love 
and  the  value  of  his  gift,  we  say  to  him,  *  I  will  not  take 


76  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Jesus  as  my  Saviour '  ?  No  one  can  accept  Jesus  for 
another.  God  offers  each  of  you  the  gift  of  his  Son. 
Father,  mother,  or  teacher,  cannot  make  the  decision  for 
you.  You  must  decide  this  supreme  question  for  your- 
self. There  comes  a  time  in  your  Hfe  when  God  calls 
and  gives  the  opportunity  to  take  the  first  step. 

"  Some  time  ago  I  was  in  the  home  of  a  friend.  Their 
boy  was  a  little  over  a  year  old.  He  was  able  to  stand 
alone  for  a  moment,  he  could  even  walk  if  his  father  or 
mother  held  his  hands,  but  he  had  never  walked  alone. 
His  mother  had  dressed  him  carefully  for  the  evening. 
It  was  time  for  daddy  to  return  from  his  work  in  the  city. 
When  daddy  came  into  the  room  he  walked  toward  the 
little  fellow  and  held  out  both  hands  saying,  '  Come.' 
The  little  fellow  looked  into  the  face  of  the  mother  and 
smiled,  and  up  at  daddy  and  giggled  with  delight,  and 
walked  three  steps  and  tumbled  into  daddy's  arms.  How 
proud  he  was  of  himself !  How  happy  the  parents  and 
brothers  and  sisters  were!  All  they  could  talk  about  at 
the  dinner-table  was  baby's  first  step.  Why  were  they 
so  glad  ?  The  time  had  come  when  in  his  normal  develop- 
ment he  should  take  his  first  step.  What  if  he  had  never 
taken  his  first  step?  He  never  would  walk.  So  every- 
body was  happy  because  they  knew  that  he  was  growing 
normally  and  would  run  and  play  as  every  child  should. 

"  There  comes  a  time  in  our  lives  when  we  should 
take  our  first  step  in  the  Christian  life.  The  first  step  in 
the  Christian  life  is  to  accept  God's  love  gift — Jesus — as 
our  own  personal  Saviour.  I  have  given  careful  study 
to  this  question  and  know  that  boys  and  girls  who  have 
good  Christian  homes  and  good  Sunday  schools  often 
accept  Jesus  when  they  are  nine  or  ten  years  old.     Boys 


Decision  Day  77 

and  girls  around  their  twelfth  year  are  deeply  religious. 
Their  heart  is  sensitive  to  the  call  of  God.  Was  not 
Jesus  twelve  years  old  when  he  went  up  to  the  temple  and 
had  his  wonderful  religious  awakening  and  decided  to 
give  his  whole  life  to  his  father's  business? 

"  Again  God  speaks  very  clearly  and  distinctly  to  young 
people  when  they  are  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old  and 
again  when  they  are  eighteen  or  nineteen.  These  are  the 
periods  of  the  sensitive  heart — these  are  the  Seasons  of 
the  Soul.  You  who  hear  me  know  that  I  am  right  and 
that  God  is  now  calling  you.  You  know  that  it  is  the 
right  thing  for  you  to  do.  Will  you  heed  the  heavenly 
Father's  voice  and  say,  *  Yes,  dear  Father,  I  will  accept 
Jesus  as  my  personal  Saviour  and  Lord  and  follow  him 
all  the  way  '  ? 

"  I  want  each  one  to  bow  your  head  in  prayer  and  tell 
the  heavenly  Father  just  that  which  you  have  decided  to 
do.  If  you  have  accepted  Jesus  as  your  Saviour  and  Lord, 
thank  the  Father  for  his  gift  to  you.  If  you  have  not 
accepted,  but  are  willing  to  do  so  now,  tell  your  heavenly 
Father  that  you  do  now  accept  Jesus.  May  we  have  a 
season  of  silent  prayer  in  which  we  shall  each  listen  to 
the  heavenly  Father  and  each  talk  with  him  ?  " 

After  a  season  of  absolute  quiet  and  prayer  the  pastor 
turned  to  the  superintendent  and  said :  **  Mr.  Richards, 
these  boys  and  girls  all  know  you  and  you  know  them 
and  love  them.  Tell  them  when  you  became  a  Christian. 
Are  you  glad  you  did  it?  What  would  you  recommend 
to  them?  "  In  just  a  minute  he  brought  a  beautiful  testi- 
mony of  the  saving  and  keeping  power  of  Christ,  who 
entered  into  his  life  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 

One  after  the  other  the  pastor  called  to  his  side  a  man 


78  Evangelism  of  Youth 

whom  the  children  all  respected  for  his  genuine  Christian 
life,  a  prominent  Christian  woman,  a  young  married 
man,  and  a  young  married  woman,  a  young  man,  and  a 
young  woman,  a  high  school  lad  and  a  high  school  girl,  a 
boy  scout,  and  a  girl.  Each  gave  a  personal  testimony 
telling  when  Christ  was  accepted.  In  every  case  it  was 
brought  out  that  these  leaders  in  the  Christian  life  in  the 
church  began  the  Christian  life  in  their  youth,  or,  if  they 
did  not,  they  frankly  said  that  they  were  sorry  that  they 
had  not  responded  to  God's  call  earlier. 

The  pastor  called  for  the  youngest  member  of  the 
church  to  come  forward.  A  child  of  nine  years  came  to 
his  side.  He  called  for  the  person  who  had  been  a  Chris- 
tian the  longest  time.  A  woman  of  eighty  who  had  fol- 
lowed Christ  for  seventy  years  came  forward,  showing 
that  Jesus  not  only  saves  but  keeps,  blesses,  and  makes 
useful  and  happy  men  and  women.  These  ten  or  a  dozen 
Christians  had  all  borne  testimony  of  the  saving  grace  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Their  testimonies  had  created  a  deep  im- 
pression and  had  reenforced  the  message  of  the  pastor. 

All  now  joined  in  silent  prayer.  The  very  presence  of 
God  was  manifest  to  the  people.  The  pastor  asked  that 
there  be  perfect  quiet  in  the  room,  that  all  Christians 
pray,  and  that  all  the  people  listen  to  the  voice  of  God 
and  obey  him.  He  invited  all  who  had  recently  accepted 
Christ  through  the  personal  work  of  parents  or  teachers 
to  come  forward  and  say  to  him  before  the  people,  *'  I 
have  taken  Jesus  as  my  personal  Saviour."  He  also 
asked  all  who  would  decide  this  morning  to  come  forward 
and  say,  "  I  do  now  accept  Jesus  as  my  personal 
Saviour."  There  was  a  moment  of  intense  silence  and 
expectancy-     Then  one  by  one  they  came.     Here  a  girl, 


Decision  Day  79 

and  there  a  boy.  From  another  class  a  man,  and  from 
another  part  of  the  room  a  high  school  girl.  It  seemed  as 
if  the  hand  of  God  had  reached  down  and  touched  each 
one  on  the  shoulder.  Each  rose  quietly  and  came  for- 
ward to  bear  witness  to  Jesus,  the  new-found  Saviour. 

The  pastor  stopped  talking.  There  was  no  music. 
The  Christian  people  were  praying.  God  was  calling. 
The  service  could  not  be  hurried.  Eyes  were  wet  with 
tears  of  joy  as  young  people  and  boys  and  girls  and  even 
parents  cam.e  forward.  There  was  no  urging  save  from 
God.  When  it  was  evident  that  the  Spirit  had  done  his 
work,  the  pastor  said,  "  I  want  every  member  of  my 
church  who  believes  in  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
and  who  will  pledge  to  them  encouragement,  love,  and 
help,  in  living  the  Christian  life,  to  show  this  by  taking  a 
place  behind  them  on  the  platform,  and  if  there  is  any  one 
else  who  wishes  to  come  forward  to  confess  Christ  he 
may  do  so  at  this  time."  The  members  of  the  church 
filled  the  side  aisles,  the  pulpit,  and  the  choir-loft.  It  was 
a  most  impressive  sight.  Others  did  come  forward  to 
confess  Christ.  All  joined  in  singing,  "  Blest  Be  the 
Tie  That  Binds." 

The  pastor  invited  those  seated  who  wished  to  join  the 
church  by  letter  or  by  experience  to  come  forward. 
Several  responded.  All  who  had  come  forward  to  con- 
fess faith  in  Christ  were  asked  to  follow  the  Sunday 
school  superintendent  into  another  room  while  the  pastor 
dismissed  the  school.  The  correct  name  and  address  of 
each  one  was  secured.  They  were  asked  to  tell  their  par- 
ents of  the  step  which  they  had  taken.  Full  instructions 
were  given  of  the  training-classes  which  had  been  planned 
for  the  following  week.      After  an  earnest  prayer  by 


80  Evangelism  of  Youth 

several  teachers  the  new  Christians  went  home  with  a  new 
light  upon  their  faces  and  a  new  joy  in  their  hearts. 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  Tell  about  a  Decision  Day  in  a  Sunday  school,  which 
you  have  observed.     What  were  the  weak  points? 

2.  Work  out  a  program  for  a  Decision  Day  service  in  a 
Junior  Department.     Intermediate.     Young  People. 

3.  Work  out  a  plan  for  a  Decision  Day  in  which  the 
teacher  is  used  as  the  one  to  win  his  pupils. 

4.  What  objections  do  you  see  in  a  Decision  Day  service? 

5.  What  value  do  you  see  in  such  a  service? 

6.  What  is  the  pastor's  place  in  a  decision  service? 

7.  What  is  the  parent's  place  in  securing  decisions  for  the 
Qiristian  life? 

8.  Why  is  it  easier  to  secure  a  public  decision  from 
juniors  than  from  late  intermediates  or  young  people? 

9.  What  kind  of  an  appeal  should  be  made  to  children  of 
the  junior  age?  How  would  an  appeal  to  intermedi- 
ates differ? 

REFERENCES 

"  Plans  for  Sunday  School  Evangelism,"  Brown. 
"  Living  Teachers,"  Slattery. 
"  Christ  and  the  Young  People,"  Clark. 
\/         "  How  Can  I  Lead  My  Pupils  to  Christ?  "  PelL 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PASTOR'S  TRAINING-CLASSES 

Pastor  Evans  believed  in  preparing  young  Christians 
for  the  duties  and  privileges  of  church-membership.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  had  conducted  a  class  of  boys  and 
girls  about  twelve  years  of  age  who  had  started  in  the 
Christian  life.  This  year  he  prepared  his  courses  of  in- 
.struction  with  great  care.  When,  therefore,  the  Decision 
Day  in  the  Sunday  school  revealed  the  large  number  in 
the  school  who  had  responded  to  the  loving  instruction  of 
their  teachers  by  giving  their  hearts  to  Christ,  he  was  pre- 
pared to  enlist  them  in  the  training-classes.  He  had  pre- 
pared the  following  schedule  of  classes  for  the  entire 
week  immediately  after  Decision  Day. 

SCHEDULE  OF  CLASSES 

Monday 
3.45.  Class  for  Juniors.     Age  9,  10,  11. 
4.30.  Class  for  Intermediates.    Age  12,  13,  14. 
6.30.  Older  Boys  and  Fathers'  Supper. 

Tuesday 
3.45.  Junior  Class. 
4.30.  Intermediate  Class. 
6.30.  Older  Girls  and  Mothers*  Luncheon. 

81 


82  Evangelism  of  Youth 


Wednesday 
3.45.  Junior  Class. 
4.30.  Intermediate  Class. 

7.30.  Midweek  church  night.     Topic,  "The  Christian 
Home."    (A  meeting  for  parents.) 

Thursday 
3.45.  Junior  Class. 
4.30.  Intermediate  Class. 
6.30.  Young  People's  Banquet. 

Friday 
3.00.  Mothers'  meeting. 
3.45.  Junior  Class. 
4.30.  Intermediate  Class. 

The  Sunday  school  teachers  were  expected  to  visit  per- 
sonally each  member  of  their  classes  who  had  made  a 
decision,  as  early  in  the  week  as  possible,  interviewing 
both  pupils  and  parents.  In  visiting  the  parents,  the 
teachers  were  instructed  to  assume  that  the  parents  would 
be  interested  in  anything  that  meant  the  strengthening  of 
the  character  of  their  children.  In  this  way  the  hearty 
cooperation  of  the  home  could  be  secured  in  the  program 
of  the  church. 

The  pastor  sent  to  each  young  Christian  the  following 
letter : 

Dear  Friend:  May  I  not  offer  to  you  my  sincere  congratula- 
tions on  the  fine  stand  you  took  yesterday  morning  in  making  a 
public  decision  for  Christ.    This  will  mean  more  and  more  to 


Pastor's  Training-Classes  83 

you  as  the  days  pass  by,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  never  regret  it. 
God  bless  you  in  it ! 

It  may  be  there  is  some  member  of  your  family  or  some  dear 
friend  you  would  like  to  see  share  your  joy  and  come  into  the 
church  with  you.  Will  you  not  speak  to  such  an  one  about  it 
right  away  and  bring  him  to  the  meetings  with  you,  or  tell  the 
pastor  about  him?  Would  it  not  be  wonderful  if  every  one  who 
came  brought  another?  (See  John  1  :  25-46.) 

Wednesday  evening  promptly  at  7.30,  there  will  be  a  special 
service  on  the  "  Christian  Home."  Be  sure  to  come  and  bring 
your  father  and  mother.  Also  invite  your  mother  to  come  to 
the  Mothers'  Meeting  on  Friday  afternoon  at  3  o'clock. 

The  pastor  hopes  to  have  a  meeting  soon  with  all  those  who 
desire  to  join  the  church,  and  will  announce  the  date  shortly.  If 
you  desire  to  talk  over  any  problem  with  him,  feel  free  to  come 
to  the  parsonage  or  phone  for  an  appointment.    Telephone  3213. 

Enclosed  is  a  list  of  the  special  classes  this  week.  I  am  count- 
ing on  your  regular  attendance. 

Praying  for  even  greater  joys  and  victories  in  your  Christian 
life,  I  am, 

Faithfully  your  pastor, 

Thomas  Evans. 

Junior  Classes 

In  the  Junior  Department  on  Sunday  the  pastor  had 
given  to  each  boy  and  girl  a  round  tag,  red  for  the  boys 
and  v^hite  for  the  girls.  These  had  been  secured  from 
the  Dennison  Company.  On  one  side  the  child  wrote  his 
name  and  the  name  of  his  church.  On  the  other  side 
were  pasted  each  day  the  seals  which  the  pastor  gave  out 
— flags  for  the  boys  and  gold  stars  for  the  girls.  Every 
boy  and  girl  who  attended  four  out  of  five  lessons  would 
be  entitled  to  the  special  treat  provided  by  the  church  on 
the  last  afternoon.  These  tags  helped  the  boys  and  girls 
to  remember  and  advertise  the  children's  meetings  among 
the  other  boys  and  girls. 


84  Evangelism  of  Youth 

The  daily  class  program  which  the  pastor  outlined  was 
as  follows: 

1.  Opening  prayer  followed  by  the  Lord's  prayer. 

2.  Several  appropriate  hymns. 

3.  Prayer  period. 

4.  Bible  drill. 

5.  Special  instruction. 

6.  Verse-finding  contest. 

7.  Giving  out  of  seals,  announcements,  closing  prayer. 

Prayer 

Every  new  convert  was  taught  to  pray.  The  pastor 
did  it  this  way.     Each  memorized  the  following  verse : 

"  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above 
and  cometh  down  from  the  Father"  (James  1  :  17). 

He  asked  each  boy  and  girl  to  name  one  good  gift  from 
the  heavenly  Father.  By  talking  with  them  he  was  able 
to  lead  their  thoughts  to  some  of  the  most  important  gifts 
of  God,  such  as  food,  clothing,  life,  love,  schools,  churches, 
pastors,  missionaries,  fathers  and  mothers,  brothers  and 
sisters,  the  Bible,  and  best  of  all  Jesus,  God's  Son.  He 
asked  each  one  to  pick  out  one  good  gift  and  to  remember 
it.  All  stood  with  bowed  heads.  The  pastor  gave  them 
this  form :  "  Dear  heavenly  Father,  we  thank  thee  for 

.     Amen."     Each  child  put  in  the  one  thing 

which  he  had  chosen.  It  was  beautiful  to  hear  them,  as, 
one  after  the  other,  they  lovingly  thanked  the  heavenly 
Father  for  his  good  gifts.  After  two  days  he  taught 
them  that  they  could  ask  for  things  from  the  heavenly 
Father  as  well  as  thank  him  for  his  good  gifts.     They 


Pastor's  Training-Classes  85 

talked  over  the  things  for  which  they  could  ask  him,  such 
as  forgiveness,  love,  health,  clean  strong  lives,  the  sick, 
their  pastor,  their  fathers  and  mothers,  the  missionaries, 
and  other  boys  and  girls  to  accept  Jesus.-  Again  each 
boy  and  girl  selected  something  for  which  they  wished 
to  ask  the  heavenly  Father.     The  form  of  the  prayer  was  : 

"  Dear    heavenly    Father,    we    ask   thee   . 

Amen."  Each  child  prayed  this  simple  prayer,  putting 
in  his  own  request.  After  this  had  been  tried  out  and 
understood  the  children  were  taught  each  day  to  form 
their  own  prayers  of  thanksgiving  or  of  request.  Usually 
they  would  combine  both  request  and  thanksgiving. 

One  caution  is  needed.  Be  reverent.  Sometimes  on 
the  first  day  some  one  giggles.  One  needs  only  to  remind 
the  children  that  they  are  talking  to  the  heavenly  Father ; 
that  he  is  right  there,  and  they  of  course  do  not  want  to 
giggle  in  his  face. 

Bible  Drills 

Children  need  to  be  taught  to  love  and  to  use  the  Bible. 
This  can  best  be  done  through  drills.  It  is  good  to  learn 
the  books  of  the  Bible  by  rote.  After  this  has  been  done, 
the  boy  or  girl  may  not  know  how  to  find  the  various 
books  in  the  Bible.  It  is  better  to  know  how  to  use  the 
Bible. 

Present  Bibles.  Each  child  has  a  Bible.  The  pastor 
says,  "  Present — Bibles !  "  At  the  command  "  Present  " 
each  child  takes  the  Bible  in  his  right  hand,  puts  both 
feet  on  the  floor  ready  to  stand.  When  the  pastor  says, 
"  Bibles,"  all  stand  in  unison  and  hold  the  Bible  upward 
in  the  right  hand.  At  the  command  "  Bibles — Front," 
the  Bible  is  held  in  both  hands  in  front.     "  Bibles — 


86  Evangelism  of  Youth 

Opened  " — all  open  the  Bible.  "  Be  seated  " — all  sit  with 
open  Bibles  ready  for  the  drills. 

Finding  Books  of  the  Bible.  This  drill  was  given  as  a 
game.  As  the  pastor  described  a  book,  those  who  knew 
the  book  described  found  it  and  stood,  holding  the  Bible 
open  at  the  given  book.  Here  are  samples  of  the  book 
descriptions : 

I  am  thinking  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 

I  am  thinking  of  a  letter  written  by  an  old  man  to 
some  Christians  living  in  the  capital  city  of  the  world. 

I  am  thinking  of  the  book  which  contains  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount. 

I  am  thinking  of  the  song-book  used  by  the  Hebrew 
people. 

I  am  thinking  of  the  book  which  tells  the  story  of  a 
foreign  girl  who  became  the  great-grandmother  of  King 
David,  etc. 

It  was  surprising  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  which 
was  gained  in  a  few  days  of  this  kind  of  drill.^ 

There  was  a  contest  between  the  boys  and  girls.  They 
liked  this  arrangement  and  each  side  worked  hard  to  win. 

On  one  of  the  days  two  leaders  were  chosen,  and  the 
boys  and  girls  divided  into  two  companies,  lining  up  as  in 
an  old-fashioned  spell  down.  The  questions  were  asked 
alternate  sides.  Any  one  missing  sat  down.  The  object 
of  the  game  was  to  see  who  would  be  at  the  head  of  the 
line  at  the  end  of  the  contest. 

Still  another  way  was  to  keep  a  record  of  each  indi- 
vidual and  see  who  found  the  most  books. 

Bible  Verse  Contest.    At  the  beginning  of  the  course 

*  This  drill  has  been  worked  out  from  a  suggestion  received  from  Meme 
Brockway  in  an  institute  on  junior  work. 


Pastor^s  Training-Classes  87 

of  instruction  the  pastor  had  told  the  boys  and  girls  that 
he  would  give  a  New  Testament  to  the  boy  and  another 
to  the  girl  who  during  the  week  found  the  largest  num- 
ber of  Bible  verses.  This  was  done  in  both  the  Juniors 
and  the  Intermediate  Classes.  Two  umpires  were  chosen, 
one  to  choose  the  boy  and  the  other  the  girl  who  found  the 
verse  and  stood  ready  to  read.  To  avoid  confusion  and 
irreverence  in  handling  the  Word  of  God  no  one  started 
to  read  until  directed  by  the  pastor.  The  one  chosen  to 
read  did  so  reverently.  Sometimes  the  pastor  chose  the 
first  one  who  stood,  and  sometimes  some  one  else.  In 
skipping  about  in  this  manner  greater  interest  was  de- 
veloped. After  the  first  day  several  of  the  children 
practised  at  home.  After  a  little  practise  in  this  and  in 
the  finding  of  the  books  of  the  Bible  it  was  surprising 
how  quickly  the  children  found  the  verses. 

Special  Instruction 

There  were  five  days  for  instruction.  The  pastor 
wanted  each  boy  and  girl  to  know  the  simple  steps  in  the 
Christian  life. 

First  Day.  Theme,  God*  the  Loving,  Heavenly  Father. 
The  children  were  asked  to  give  the  various  names  of 
God.  They  mentioned  Lord,  Jehovah,  Christ,  the 
Almighty,  Father,  heavenly  Father.  By  vote  they  chose 
as  the  name  they  liked  best ''  the  heavenly  Father.''  They 
learned  this  verse,  James  1  :  17 :  "  Every  good  gift  and 
every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from 
the  Father." 

Then  they  talked  over  the  various  good  gifts,  which  he 
has  given,  writing  them  upon  the  blackboard.  When 
asked  what  was  his  very  best  gift  they  all  replied,  "  Jesus, 


88  Evangelism  of  Youth 

his  Son."  The  pastor  asked  a  boy  if  he  was  afraid  of 
the  heavenly  Father.  He  said,  "No."  "Why  not?" 
asked  the  pastor.  "  He  has  never  done  anything  to  me," 
replied  the  boy,  "  and  he  loves  me." 

When  the  pastor  asked,  "  How  do  you  know  that  God 
loves  you?  "  One  replied,  "  He  would  never  have  given 
us  all  these  good  things  had  he  not  loved  us."  Another 
said,  "  He  would  never  have  sent  Jesus  to  save  us  if  he 
had  not  loved  us."  Another  said,  "  The  Bible  tells  us 
that  God  loves  us." 

They  learned  two  verses  telling  of  the  love  of  God: 
"  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  Hfe  "  (John  3  :  16).  "We 
love  him  because  he  first  loved  us  "  (1  John  4  :  19). 

By  question  and  answer  the  pastor  taught  that  the  lov- 
ing heavenly  Father  was  very  near  to  each  one  of  them, 
ready  always  to  listen  and  ready  to  help. 

Second  Day.  Theme,  Jesus  the  Saviour  from  Sin. 
Memory  verse,  Matthew  1  :  21.  "Thou  shalt  call  his 
name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins." 

1.  How  do  we  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  sin? 
"  We  see  it."  "  We  feel  it  in  our  own  hearts."  "  We 
hear  it."     "  The  Bible  tells  us  so." 

2.  What  are  some  of  the  things  we  know  are  sins? 
The  pastor  put  the  list  on  the  blackboard  as  given  by  the 
class. 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  bad  results  of  sin?  These 
were  written  on  the  blackboard. 

4.  What  did  Jesus  do  to  save  people  from  sin?  This 
was  the  opportunity  to  present  the  old,  old  story  of  sacri- 
ficial love  on  the  cross. 


Pastor^s  Training-Classes  89 

5.  How  can  we  have  Jesus  as  our  personal  Saviour? 
(1)  Accept  him.     (2)  Repent  of  sin.     (3)  Confess  him. 

6.  The  pastor  gave  each  boy  and  girl  an  opportunity  to 
stand  up  and  say,  ''I  have  accepted  Jesus  as  my  personal 
Saviour."  An  opportunity  was  given  for  those  who  had 
not  accepted  him  to  do  so  now.  Several  made  the 
supreme  choice  of  the  Saviour  and  openly  confessed  him. 

Third  Day.  Theme,  The  Church  and  its  Ordinances. 
The  pastor  explained  the  formation  of  the  church  as 
God's  family  on  earth,  made  up  of  those  who  had  ac- 
cepted Jesus,  who  were  trying  to  become  more  like  him 
and  who  were  working  together  to  win  others  to  him,  to 
his  manner  of  life  and  to  his  service.  He  explained  very 
carefully  the  way  in  which  a  person  could  become  a  mem- 
ber of  his  church.  He  then  told  of  the  two  ordinances 
given  by  Jesus  to  the  church,  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

He  had  the  children  read  from  the  Bible  the  various 
accounts  of  these  two  services.  After  each  reading  he 
had  one  of  the  boys  or  girls  retell,  in  his  or  her  own  lan- 
guage, the  story  which  had  been  read.  One  of  the  older 
boys  who  was  a  member  of  the  church  told  how  these 
services  were  conducted  in  that  church.  The  pastor  fol- 
lowed by  explaining  the  real  meaning  of  these  two  ordi- 
nances. 

Fourth  Day.  Theme,  Christian  Habits.  Forming 
Christian  Habits.  The  pastor  explained  to  the  boys  and 
girls  the  meaning  and  importance  of  good  habits  and  how 
these  habits  could  be  secured.  He  told  them  that  they 
were  in  the  most  important  habit-forming  period  of  their 
lives,  that  most  habits  are  formed  by  the  time  a  person 
is  sixteen.     There  were  certain  Christian  habits  that  every 


90  Evangelism  of  Youth 

young  Christian  should  form.  The  way  to  form  these 
liabits  was  to  begin  at  once,  never  skip  a  day,  and  keep 
at  it  until  the  habit  was  firmly-  fixed.  He  mentioned  six 
Christian  habits : 

"  Church  Attendance.  Every  Christian  should  attend 
the  church  service  of  worship  every  Sunday  as  well  as  the 
Sunday  school.  There  is  something  which  comes  into 
the  life  when  the  whole  family  of  God's  people  meet  in  a 
common  service  of  worship,  that  comes  in  no  other  way. 
The  central  idea  of  worship  is  the  '  presence  of  God.'  To 
come  before  the  heavenly  Father,  to  realize  his  presence 
in  the  house  dedicated  to  his  worship,  to  listen  to  his 
voice,  to  think  his  thoughts,  to  be  instructed  by  the  pastor 
in  God's  word  and  way,  and  to  catch  the  spirit  of  love  and 
faith  of  others,  all  these  things  make  the  service  of  wor- 
ship. Boys  and  girls  should  form  the  habit  of  church 
attendance,  sitting  if  possible  with  their  parents. 

"  Daily  Bible  Reading.  Every  young  Christian  should 
have  a  Bible  of  his  or  her  own.  Bring  this  Bible  with 
you  to  Sunday  school  and  church.  Always  follow  the 
pastor  in  your  Bible  when  he  reads  the  Scripture.  The 
boys  should  get  a  pocket  Testament  and  always  carry  it. 
Read  the  Bible  every  day.  Have  some  regular  time  for 
this  reading. 

"  Prayer.  Learn  to  pray.  We  are  doing  this  in  these 
classes.  Whenever  you  have  an  opportunity  in  your 
Junior  meeting  or  the  Sunday  school  or  the  prayer  service 
of  the  church,  offer  a  brief  prayer,  but  you  cannot  do  this 
well,  unless  you  pray  much  when  alone.  Begin  the  day 
in  prayer,  asking  for  guidance,  strength,  and  help.  Close 
the  day  in  prayer.  Pray  for  others.  Pray  whenever  you 
are  in  need  or  whenever  you  want  to  talk  to  your  Father. 


Pastor* s  Training-Classes  91 

*' Winning  Others:  Read  John  1  :  35-46.  It  is  the 
great  joy  of  every  Christian  to  win  others  to  Christ. 
Boys  and  girls  and  young  people  can  speak  to  their  play- 
mates, friends,  and  even  their  parents  if  they  are  not 
Christians.  Make  a  prayer  list  of  one  or  more  friends 
and  pray  for  them  every  day  until  they  become  Chris- 
tians. Begin  now  to  win  others,  and  all  through  your  life 
you  will  have  the  great  joy  of  helping  many  people  to 
become  followers  of  Christ. 

"  Using  One's  Money.  Every  child  should  learn  the 
value  and  use  of  money.  Every  one  should  learn  the 
Christian  use  of  money.  Every  boy  and  girl  has  some 
money.  Keep  a  cash  account  of  every  cent  received  and 
every  cent  spent.  Do  not  waste  money.  Get  a  bank- 
account  started.  Give  God  his  share.  Begin  to  tithe 
now.  Every  time  you  earn  any  money  or  have  money 
given  to  you  set  aside  one-tenth  for  God. 

'^  Be  a  witness  for  Christ.  Never  be  ashamed  to  stand 
up  and  to  say  that  you  are  a  Christian.  Say  a  good  word 
for  Jesus,  your  friend,  every  opportunity  you  have." 

Fifth  Day.  Theme,  Growing  as  Jesus  Grew.  "  And 
Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favor  with 
God  and  man"  (Luke  2  :  52).  Jesus  is  our  perfect 
example.  Every  Christian  should  try  to  become  like 
Jesus.  We  may  become  like  Jesus  by  imitating  him; 
by  having  him  as  our  ideal,  and  by  living  close  to  him 
day  by  day. 

Jesus  grew  in  four  ways:  (1)  Mentally  (in  wisdom)  ; 
(2)  physically  (in  stature)  ;  (3)  religiously  (in  favor 
with  God)  ;  (4)  socially  (in  favor  with  men). 

Mentally.  Jesus  had  a  well-trained  mind.  He  was 
ever  a  learner.     Get  a  good  education.     Prepare  to  be  a 


92  Evangelism  of  Youth 

leader  among  men.  Keep  your  mind  open  to  new  truths 
and  new  ideas. 

Physically.  Jesus  had  a  strong,  clean,  healthy  body. 
Be  clean  in  body,  in  mind,  and  in  thought.  Eat  good 
wholesome  food.  Get  plenty  of  sleep.  Take  regular 
exercise.     Have  good  physical  habits. 

Religiously.  Jesus  was  deeply  religious.  He  lived  as 
a  true  son  of  his  heavenly  Father.  He  sought  always  to 
do  just  that  which  his  Father  wanted  him  to  do.  Trust 
your  heavenly  Father.  Do  that  which  he  wants  you  to 
do.  Talk  often  with  him.  Help  him  make  other  people 
good  and  happy. 

Socially.  Jesus  knew  how  to  get  along  with  other 
people.  Be  loving.  People  will  love  you.  Be  happy. 
People  will  like  to  be  with  you.  Be  helpful.  People 
need  your  help. 

Intermediate  Class 

In  the  intermediate  class  the  pastor  followed  much  the 
same  general  outline  as  for  the  Juniors,  only  he  made 
more  of  the  study  of  the  Bible  itself  and  much  more  of 
the  discussion  method  of  instruction,  giving  the  young 
people  opportunity  for  free  expression  of  their  own  opin- 
ions and  for  frank  questions.  They  were  led  to  form 
their  own  conclusions.  In  connection  with  this  class,  the 
pastor  gave  his  young  people  the  opportunity  of  arrang- 
ing for  a  personal  interview  to  talk  over  certain  phases 
of  the  religious  life. 

Fathers  and  Sons'  Supper 

On  Monday  evening  the  boys  between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  sixteen,  together  with  their  fathers  and  the 


Pastor^ s  Training-Classes  93 

men  of  the  church,  had  a  supper  in  the  church  at  six- 
thirty.  The  church  troop  of  Boy  Scouts  attended  in  a 
body  and  sat  by  patrols.  There  was  plenty  of  fun  with 
yells  and  songs.  There  were  four  short  toasts :  **  What 
we  boys  think  of  our  dads  " ;  "  What  we  boys  think  of 
our  church  " ;  "  What  we  fathers  think  of  our  boys  ** ; 
"  What  our  church  thinks  of  its  boys." 

The  pastor  urged  the  fathers  to  enter  seriously  into 
The  Business  of  Boy-Raising.  The  boys  were  advised  to 
line  up  with  Jesus  Christ  and  to  keep  close  to  dad.  He 
urged  the  men  of  the  church  to  take,  as  their  big  task  in 
the  church,  the  whole  program  of  boys'  work. 

Mothers  and  Daughters'  Luncheon 

On  Tuesday  evening  the  mothers  and  older  girls  met 
for  luncheon  in  the  church  at  six-thirty.  There  were 
four  responses,  two  from  the  girls  and  two  from  the 
mothers :  "  What  we  girls  think  of  our  mothers  "  ;  "  What 
we  girls  think  of  our  church  " ;  "  What  we  mothers  think 
of  our  daughters  " ;  "  What  the  church  thinks  and  expects 
of  its  girls." 

The  pastor  spoke  briefly  to  the  mothers  and  urged  them 
to  understand  and  to  keep  close  to  their  daughters.  He 
urged  the  girls  to  make  a  confidant  of  mother  and  to 
keep  close  to  her.  He  urged  the  woman's  society  of  the 
church  to  undertake  as  their  special  task  a  worthy  pro- 
gram for  the  girls  of  the  church. 

Parents'  Night 

On  Wednesday  evening  the  regular  midweek  meeting 
of  the  church  the  topic  was  "  The  Christian  Home."    One 


94  Evangelism  of  Youth 

spoke  on  the  "  Value  of  the  Christian  Home  "  as  the 
single  greatest  factor  in  the  Christianizing  of  the  world. 
Another  spoke  on  religious  training  in  the  home,  bringing 
out  the  facts  that  in  the  home  religion  should  be  genuine, 
that  there  should  never  be  any  criticism  of  pastor,  church, 
or  church  people  before  the  children,  that  the  parents 
should  go  with  the  children  to  church  and  not  merely  send 
them,  that  parents  should  know  and  anticipate  the  re- 
ligious crises  of  youth.  The  pastor  urged  that  Christian 
living  should  be  practised  more  and  more  in  the  home. 
Many  of  the  people  spoke  lovingly  of  the  influence  of  a 
Christian  home  upon  their  own  lives. 

Young  People's  Banquet 

The  young  people's  society  had  secured  a  very  large 
attendance  of  young  people  for  Thursday  night.  Mr. 
Witter,  the  president  of  the  society,  presided.  There 
were  several  songs  and  yells  by  groups.  The  following 
responses  were  given :  "  My  Idea  of  a  Christian  Young- 
Man,"  by  a  young  woman ;  "  My  Idea  of  a  Christian 
Young  Woman,"  by  a  young  man ;  "  What  We  Young 
People  Expect  from  Our  Church  " ;  "  What  Our  Church 
Expects  of  its  Young  People " ;  "  The  Work  of  Our 
Young  People's  Society." 

The  pastor  challenged  each  young  man  and  young 
woman  to  take  some  advanced  step  for  Jesus  Christ. 
He  indicated  some  steps  that  could  be  taken :  Acceptance 
of  Jesus  Christ;  membership  in  his  church;  a  training- 
class  for  teachers;  membership  in  the  big  volunteer  choir 
for  Sunday  evening ;  some  definite  form  of  Christian  ser- 
vice, breaking  some  bad  habit;  tithing ;  cultivation  of  the 
devotional  life. 


Pastor^s  Training-Classes  95 

He  gave  to  each  a  blank  card  and  requested  that  each 
one  write  his  or  her  full  name  and  address,  then  after 
earnest  prayer  to  put  down  a  forward  step  which  he  or 
she  was  willing  to  take  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  cause. 

How  glad  it  made  the  pastor's  heart  that  night  when  he 
looked  over  the  cards  to  find  that  nearly  every  one  had 
really  made  some  forward  step  for  Christ.  He  wrote 
each  a  personal  letter.  He  knew  that  his  young  people 
were  catching  the  vision  of  the  Christ  and  his  service, 
and  his  heart  was  glad,  for  he  knew  that  better  days  were 
coming  for  the  church,  for  the  community  and  the 
kingdom. 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  Discuss  methods  of  teaching  young  people  to  pray. 

2.  Give  examples  of  Bible  drills  and  games  other  than 
those  mentioned. 

3.  What  is  the  value  of  a  junior  society?     How  organize 
and  conduct? 

4.  What  is  the  value  of  an  intermediate  society?     How 
organize  and  conduct  ? 

5.  What  is  the  value  of  a  young  people's  society? 

6.  What  direction  can  be  given  to  young  people  in  help- 
ing them  develop  Christian  habits? 

7.  When  did  you  begin  going  to  church  regularly? 

8.  When  did  you  begin  to  tithe? 

9.  When  did  you  begin  daily  Bible  reading? 

10.  Make  a  list  of  things  older  boys  and  girls  can  do  in  a 
church. 

11.  Make  a  list  of  Christian  activities  for  young  people. 


96  Evangelism  of  Youth 

REFERENCES 

*'  You  and  Your  Church,"  Kirtley. 
"  Conversations  on  the  Christian  Life,"  Gage,  Neel,  and 
Sanborn. 

*'  The  Young  Christian  and  His  Work,"  Grenell. 

"  The  Meaning  of  Service,"  Fosdick. 

"  The  Meaning  of  Prayer,"  Fosdick. 

"  The  Church  and  Its  Juniors,"  Brockway. 

*'  Our  Junior  Department,"  McNaughton. 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  CAMPAIGN 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  boys  and  girls  and  young 
people  were  becoming  members  of  the  church,  and  that 
many  fathers  and  mothers  and  other  adults  were  also 
joining,  a  special  meeting  of  the  advisory  board  had  been 
called  at  the  pastor's  home  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
what  adjustments  should  be  made  in  the  church  life  and 
activity  because  of  the  coming  of  these  new  members. 
The  pastor  gave  the  story  of  the- campaign  from  the  time 
of  the  first  meeting  of  the  church  officers.     Then  he  said : 

"  Whenever  a  baby  comes  into  our  homes  we  must 
make  an  adjustment  of  our  home  life  so  as  to  provide 
for  the  proper  training  of  that  new  life.  We  do  not 
ask  the  child  to  make  all  the  adjustments.  We  cannot 
run  our  homes  after  the  babies  come  as  we  did  before 
they  came ;  nor  as  we  will  after  the  babies  are  grown  up 
and. have  gone  into  homes  of  their  own.  We  cannot  come 
and  go  as  freely  as  we  did.  We  cannot  spend  all  our 
income  upon  our  own  food,  clothes,  and  pleasures.  The 
house  does  get  cluttered  up  with  toys  and  muddy  from 
playing  children.  Furniture  gets  marred,  dishes  broken, 
and  the  wall-paper  shows  finger-prints  of  little  children. 
We  cannot  manage  our  homes  after  the  children  get  to  be 
noisy  Juniors  as  we  did  when  they  were  babies,  when  we 
could  put  them  to  bed  and  they  would  stay  there  until  we 
took  them  up ;  nor  can  we  have  everything  our  own  way 

97 


98  Evangelism  of  Youth 

when  these  children  enter  high  school  and  have  ideas  of 
their  own  as  to  the  management  of  the  house.  As  parents 
of  growing  children  we  must  constantly  adjust  our  home 
life  to  the  changing  needs  of  our  children.  In  the  same 
way  we  must  not  run  our  churches  simply  from  the  adult 
point  of  view.  We  must  constantly  study  the  needs  of 
our  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  and  make  such 
changes  as  will  help  our  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
grow  up  with  Christian  habits,  attitudes  of  mind,  and  a 
love  for  the  church. 

"  There  are  four  things  which  as  a  church  we  ought  to 
do  at  this  time:  (1)  The  new  members  of  our  church 
should  know  that  they  are  wanted.  (2)  They  should 
come  first.  The  baby  in  the  home  comes  first.  Can  we 
do  less  for  our  new-born  Christians?  (3)  There  must 
be  a  loving  atmosphere  in  our  church.  Children  thrive 
best  under  love.  (4)  There  must  be  a  warm,  genuine, 
spiritual  life  among  us. 

"  As  your  pastor  I  am  going  to  give  much  more  atten- 
tion to  the  youth  of  our  church.  I  am  going  to  be  their 
pastor  and  adjust  my  program  so  as  to  include  them. 
This  is  especially  true  of  my  preaching.  I  have  been 
trained  to  preach  to  mature  minds.  Our  services  of  wor- 
ship have  been  formed  with  only  adults  in  mind.  This 
is  wrong.  Our  services  of  worship  should  be  for  the 
whole  family. 

"  For  a  long  time  we  have  taught  our  boys  and  girls  to 
go  to  Sunday  school,  but  not  to  worship.  Now  there  is 
something  which  comes  into  our  lives  when  the  whole 
family  of  God  unites  in  a  service  of  common  worship 
that  cannot  come  in  any  other  way.  Our  young  people 
need  this  spiritual  uplift.     I  have  been  thinking  about  our 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  99 


morning  service  of  worship.  It  has  Httle  to  interest  our 
boys  and  girls  because  it  is  almost  entirely  for  the  adult 
mind.  I  believe  this  should  be  changed,  that  children  and 
young  people  should  have  a  part  in  the  worship,  and  that 
my  own  message  should  include  them.  Beginning  with 
next  Sunday,  I  shall  plan  a  service  of  worship  with  a 
junior  choir,  with  special  recognition  of  the  children  and 
with  a  sermon  which  shall  have  something  in  it  for  them. 
The  junior  age  is  the  great  habit-forming  period  of  life. 
Our  children  over  nine  years  old  should  be  forming  the 
habit  of  regular  church  attendance.  It  is  absurd  to  bring 
up  our  children  outside  of  the  worship  service,  and  then 
expect  them  by  some  strange  power  to  acquir2  habits  of 
church  attendance  after  their  main  habits  of  life  have 
been  set  and  after  they  have  acquired  the  habit  of  staying 
away. 

"  It  will  take  some  time  to  work  this  out.  The  children 
will  do  exactly  that  which  we  expect  them  to  do  and  that 
which  they  see  the  adults  doing.  The  question  of  rever- 
ence and  order  on  the  part  of  children  is  almost  wholly 
an  adult  attitude.  Let  us  set  the  proper  example.  Chil- 
dren can  sit  with  parents  or  with  Sunday  school  teachers 
in  the  front  of  the  church,  never  on  the  back  seats  or  in 
the  gallery.  Some  of  the  older  members  of  the  church 
should  sit  with  them.  Be  patient  with  this  experiment. 
Believe  in  this  and  stand  by  me  in  this  important  part  of 
our  church  work. 

"  The  excuse  which  is  so  often  given  for  children  stay- 
ing away  from  the  service  of  worship,  namely,  that  the 
service  is  too  long  for  them,  is  an  adult  excuse  and  never 
originated  in  the  mind  of  a  child.  No  child  would  ever 
think  the  two  and  one-half  hours  of  the  service  of  Sunday 


100  Evangelism  of  Youth' 

school  and  church  too  long  if  he  had  not  heard  some 
adults  make  it.  The  children  are  in  the  habit  of  a  three- 
hour  service  in  public  school.  We  need,  of  course,  to  get 
the  cooperation  of  the  parents  in  this  service.  I  am  plan- 
ning to  write  a  personal  letter  to  each  parent,  and  just 
as  rapidly  as  possible  I  am  planning  to  call  upon  the 
parents  and  explain  our  plans  and  secure  cooperation. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  about  the  educational  program 
of  our  church.  Have  you  noticed  that  a  large  percentage 
of  those  who  accepted  Christ  are  becoming  members  of 
our  church?  This  is  due  to  our  educational  program  of 
evangelism.  When  the  boys  and  girls  accepted  Jesus 
as  their  personal  Saviour  they  did  it  largely  as  the  result 
of  the  teaching  and  personal  work  of  their  teachers  and 
parents.  Then  we  had  our  instruction  classes.  Parents 
who  thought  their  children  were  too  young  to  join  the 
church  were  perfectly  willing  when  they  knew  of  our 
plans  of  instruction,  when  they  saw  how  genuine  their 
children  were  in  their  Christian  lives  in  the  home,  and 
when  we  explained  to  them  our  plans  through  our  Sunday 
school  and  our  junior  and  intermediate  societies  for  the 
further  training  of  the  young  Christians. 

"  We  in  the  advisory  board  see  the  value  of  winning 
and  training  our  youth  for  Christ ;  but  all  of  our  people 
do  not.  We  need  to  put  on  an  educational  program  for 
the  members  of  our  church.  I  have  been  giving  this  a 
great  deal  of  thought.  I  want  your  cooperation  in  put- 
ting across  a  six-weeks'  School  of  Religious  Education  in 
our  church.  As  I  have  given  this  careful  study  I  believe 
that  Sunday  night  is  the  best  time  for  such  a  school. 
This  is  the  general  plan.  The  details  we  can  work  out,  if 
you  approve  of  the  plan." 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  101 

THE  PROGRAM 

6.00.  Light  lunch  in  the  church  for  those  who  wish  to 
come. 

6.30.  Group  Courses : 

1.  Juniors.  Age,  9-11.  Bible  Drills,  Memory 
Work,  Music,  Story-telling,  and  Dramatization. 

2.  Intermediates.  Age,  12-14.  Bible  Drills, 
Music,  Dramatization,  Discussions  and  De- 
bates. 

3.  Young  People.  The  Fourfold  Life  Program, 
Physical,  Social,  Mental,  Religious. 

4.  Men.     "  Boys  and  Their  Fathers." 

5.  Women.     "  Girls  and  Their  Mothers." 

6.  Sunday  School  Officers  and  Teachers.  "  Or- 
ganizing and  Conducting  a  Modern  Sunday 
School." 

7.30.  General  Assembly  of  all  Classes  for  the  Evening 
Service.     Theme,  The  Home. 

Six  Sunday  Evening  Popular  Messages: 

1.  The  Christian  Home. 

2.  Children  in  the  Home. 

3.  Young  People  in  the  Home. 

4.  Education  in  the  Home. 

5.  Religion  in  the  Home. 

6.  All  Working  Together  for  the  Home. 

"  Pastor,"  said  Deacon  True,  "  we  agree  with  you  that 
our  church  should  give  more  time  and  thought  to  its 
young  people.     I  have  been  grieved  again  and  again  as  I 


102  Evangelism  of  Youth 

have  seen  our  Sunday  school  pupils  going  home  without 
attending  the  service  of  pubHc  worship.  I  think  it  is  time 
that  we  frankly  face  this  question  and  make  our  services 
so  attractive  to  our  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  that 
they  will  want  to  come.  I  move  that  we  recommend  to 
the  church  the  adoption  of  the  pastor's  plans  for  the 
morning  service." 

*'  As  for  the  school  of  Religious  Education,  which  the 
pastor  has  proposed,"  said  Deacon  Miller,  "  I  am  heartily 
in  favor  of  it.  We  can  get  the  young  people's  society 
back  of  the  young  people's  group.  This  will  widen  the 
interest  and  the  vision  of  the  society  in  the  young  people 
of  the  church  and  community.  We  can  get  the  men's 
Brotherhood  back  of  the  men's  class,  the  woman's  society 
back  of  the  woman's  class,  and  the  Sunday  school  back 
of  their  section.  Then  we  can  get  the  Junior  Department 
of  the  Sunday  school  interested  in  the  junior  class  and 
the  Intermediate  Department  in  the  intermediate  class." 

"  I  am  especially  interested  in  the  idea  of  the  series 
of  Sunday-evening  addresses  on  vital  subjects  of  home 
life,"  said  Mrs.  Read.  "  There  has  been  a  breakdown  in 
our  American  home  life.  The  church  is  the  institution 
which  should  stand  for  true  home  life.  I  believe  that 
we  can  make  these  Sunday-evening  services  so  helpful 
that  many  will  attend.  We  will  not  be  satisfied  until 
we  have  more  Christian  homes  and  all  of  our  homes  more 
truly  Christian." 

"  I  have  been  watching  this  campaign  of  evangelism  of 
youth  in  our  church  with  great  interest,"  said  Mr.  Smith, 
the  senior  deacon.  "  I  have  become  convinced  that  our 
deacons  should  not  be  all  old  men.  Some  of  the  deacons 
should  be  young  men  with  growing  families,  men  who 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  103 

have  the  point  of  view  of  young  people  and  who  are  deal- 
ing with  the  practical  problems  of  youth  in  their  own 
homes.  In  our  present  system  I  do  not  see  how  this  can 
be  brought  about.  I  believe  we  ought  to  have  rotation 
of  offices  in  our  church  so  that  after  any  one  has  served 
one  full  term  he  would  not  be  eligible  for  reelection  for 
one  year.  In  this  way  no  one  can  stay  on  year  after 
year  in  the  same  office,  and  our  new  members  and  our 
younger  men  can  be  worked  into  the  various  offices.  I 
am  ready  to  move  that  we  recommend  to  the  church  that 
our  constitution  be  changed  so  as  to  secure  rotation  of 
office  in  our  church."  After  careful  and  full  discussion 
this  motion  was  carried. 

Mr.  Richards,  the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
expressed  his  joy  in  the  outcome  of  the  evangelistic  cam- 
paign. He  rejoiced  in  the  increased  attendance,  the  new 
devotion  on  the  part  of  the  teachers,  and  the  deepened 
spiritual  life  of  the  pupils.  He  commended  heartily  the 
plan  to  secure  the  attendance  of  the  Sunday  school  pupils 
upon  the  public  services  of  worship  and  said :  "  I  have 
been  considering  this  question  for  some  time.  I  have 
been  talking  with  other  superintendents  about  it,  and  I 
have  heard  of  one  plan  that  appeals  to  me  very  much. 
In  the  La  Grange,  Illinois,  Presbyterian  Sunday  school, 
the  superintendent  has  introduced  an  education  system  of 
records  for  his  juniors  and  intermediates.  It  is  possible 
for  each  child  to  earn  one  hundred  per  cent,  each  Sunday. 
Church  attendance  had  been  neglected.  By  giving  twenty- 
five  points  to  this,  the  attendance  at  church  was  increased 
from  nothing  to  sixty-nine  on  a  recent  Sunday.  Each  class 
is  rated  according  to  the  total  percentage  of  all  the  mem- 
bers.    If  a  class  rates  low  the  boys  want  to  know  why. 


104 


Evangelism  of  Youth 


Then  they  get  after  the  delinquents.  A  boy  cares  Httle 
for  what  we  say,  but  he  cares  a  great  deal  about  the 
opinions  of  his  own  gang.  A  silver  cup  was  provided 
by  the  school.  The  class  having  the  highest  percentage 
for  a  quarter  had  its  name  engraved  on  the  cup.  The 
first  class  to  receive  this  honor  had  a  percentage  of  ninety- 
seven. 

"  I  am  going  to  recommend  to  the  Sunday  school  the 
adoption  of  this  system  of  records.  At  the  end  of  each 
quarter  we  will  send  to  each  parent  a  report  of  the  child's 
standing  in  the  school.  Here  is  a  sample  card,  which  I 
have  worked  out  for  our  school : 


Department. 


.Class. 


Name. 


Present,  5 

On  Time,  5 

Bible,  10 

Offering,  10 

Hand  Work,  10 

1 

Deportment,  10 

Junior  Worship,  15 

I 

Church 

Attendance,  35 

1 

1 

Total 

"  We  should  begin  to  train  our  own  teachers.  No  one 
will  do  it  for  us.  It  takes  trained  teachers  to  teach  in 
these  days.  Our  school  must  have  the  very  best.  The 
special  class  in  our  School  of  Religious  Education  will  do 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  105 

much  good,  but  we  need  a  class  in  our  school,  meeting  at 
the  Sunday  school  hour,  made  up  of  our  best  young 
people,  studying  the  regular  New  Standard  Teacher- 
training  course.  In  connection  with  this  class  we  shall 
need  a  good  Sunday  School  Workers'  library. 

"  We  must  have  more  time  for  religious  instruction. 
The  one  hour  on  Sunday  out  of  one  hundred  sixty-eight 
hours  in  the  week  is  not  sufficient.  I  understand  that  as 
much  real  training  can  be  given  in  five  weeks  of  a  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  School  as  in  six  months  of  Sunday  school. 
I  want  to  move  that  we  recommend  to  the  church  that 
we  conduct  a  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School  this  summer 
and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  promote  and  super- 
vise this  school.  We  are  hearing  much  about  Week-day 
Schools  for  Religious  Instruction.  We  need  to  prepare 
for  this  great  opportunity  which  is  upon  us." 

Mr.  Witter,  the  president  of  the  young  people's  society, 
said :  "  I  have  been  more  than  interested  in  this  confer- 
ence tonight.  Upon  our  society  will  fall  much  of  the 
responsibility  of  training  young  people  who  have  recently 
accepted  Christ.  They  need  to  know  the  Jesus  way  of 
living  as  given  in  the  fourfold  life,  physical,  mental, 
social,  and  spiritual.  Our  society  can  be  of  great  assis- 
tance to  the  church  both  as  a  training-school  for  new 
converts  and  as  a  practise-school  in  Christian  living.  One 
thing  is  very  clear  to  me.  Our  society  should  be  a  young 
people's  society,  run  by  the  young  people  for  the  young 
people.  We  welcome  the  help  and  encouragement  of  the 
older  Christians,  but  we  do  not  want  them  to  do  our  work 
for  us.  The  only  way  young  people  can  learn  and  grow 
is  by  being  given  responsibility  and  an  opportunity  to 
learn  by  doing. 


106  Evangelism  of  Youth 

"  I  am  prepared  to  recommend  to  our  society  that  we 
limit  the  active  membership  of  our  society  to  the  age  of 
youth.  According  to  our  best  educational  authorities,  the 
period  of  youth  begins  at  12  and  ends  at  24.  Adult  life 
begins  at  25.  By  the  time  a  person  is  25  he  should  have 
received  sufficient  training  so  as  to  be  v^orking  in  some 
definite  department  of  the  church.  No  person  over  25 
should  be  eligible  to  any  office  or  committee  or  even  lead 
a  meeting.  If  the  pastor  or  a  church  officer  or  an  older 
person  wishes  to  speak  before  the  Society,  let  a  young 
person  lead  the  meeting  and  introduce  the  speaker.  We 
need  a  good  junior  and  an  intermediate  society.  I  plan  to 
enlist  our  young  people  in  organizing  and  conducting 
them," 

"  I  believe,"  said  Mr.  Watson,  president  of  the  Men's 
Brotherhood,  "that  I  see  a  real  task  for  our  men  in 
*  brothering  the  boy.'  I  must  confess  that  there  have 
been  times  when  I  wondered  if  we  had  any  real  place  in 
the  church  life,  but  if  we  are  going  to  make  good  as 
fathers  and  be  Big  Brothers  to  the  boys  of  our  church,  we 
have  a  great  big  job.  I  like  the  pastor's  suggestion  for  a 
class  of  men  studying  *  Brothering  the  Boy.'  I  can 
already  see  three  important  things  for  us  to  do:  (1)  Get 
behind  the  Boy  Scouts  in  our  church  in  an  eflFective 
manner;  (2)  make  a  careful  study  of  the  older  boy  and 
solve  that  problem  in  our  church;  (3)  have  a  strong 
men's  Bible  class  for  the  study  of  the  Bible  from  a  man's 
point  of  view." 

"  What  do  the  women  think  of  our  Campaign  of  Evan- 
gelism, and  what  changes  if  any  do  you  need  to  make?  " 
inquired  the  pastor  of  Mrs.  Read,  president  of  the 
woman's  society. 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  107 

"  This  campaign,"  said  Mrs.  Read,  *'  has  brought 
several  new  members  into  our  society.  It  has  also  opened 
our  eyes  to  our  task  as  mothers  in  the  home  and  as 
women  in  the  church.  We  approve  of  the  plans  for 
special  studies  about  '  Mothers  and  Their  Girls '  and  for 
the  Sunday-evening  sermons  about  the  home.  It  seems 
to  me  that  our  task  in  the  church  is  to  enlist  all  the  women 
in  active  service  for  Christ  and  to  plan  for  the  girl  life 
of  our  church.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  an  awaken- 
ing among  the  men  for  the  boys.  As  I  have  come  to  see 
the  situation  our  boys  are  being  better  cared  for  than  the 
girls.  If  the  m,en  of  our  church  are  to  undertake  the 
boys'  work  we  mothers  ought  surely  to  look  after  the 
girls.  It  has  always  been  woman's  task  to  care  for  small 
children.  This  is  true  in  our  church  today.  The  work 
of  the  Cradle  Roll,  Beginners'  Department,  Primary  De- 
partment, and  for  the  most  part  of  the  Junior  Department 
is  given  to  the  women.  This  present  campaign  has  cer- 
tainly proved  the  value  of  an  educational  program  for  our 
children.  It  seems  to  me  that  our  women  can  well  make 
the  closest  study  of  child  life  so  as  to  make  the  children's 
division  of  our  Sunday  school  the  very  best,  in  order 
that  the  right  foundation  may  be  laid  for  strong  Chris- 
tian character  in  later  life." 

"  What  have  the  trustees  to  say?  "  asked  the  pastor  of 
Mr.  Peterson,  chairman  of  the  trustees. 

"  I  have  followed  this  campaign,"  said  Mr.  Peterson, 
"  with  increasing  interest.  One  thing  is  becoming  very 
apparent  to  me.  Our  church  building  was  never  con- 
structed for  boys  and  girls  and  young  people.  If  we  are 
to  continue  to  minister  to  the  youth  of  our  community 
we  must  face  the  question  of  educational  and  social  equip- 


108  Evangelism  of  Youth 

ment  for  our  church.  We  have  reached  the  physical 
capacity  of  our  church  in  our  Sunday  school.  I  have 
noticed  that  a  Sunday  school  will  not  grow  beyond  the 
point  where  the  pupils  have  physical  comfort.  For  a 
short  time  we  can  put  on  a  special  campaign  and  increase 
our  attendance,  but  in  the  long  run  the  school  will  not 
average  beyond  the  number  who  can  be  cared  for  with 
physical  comfort.  Since  we  started  this  special  work  I 
have  investigated  several  of  our  churches  which  have  built 
new  buildings  adapted  to  an  educational  program,  and  I 
have  found  that  in  each  case  there  has  been  immediate  in- 
crease in  attendance  in  the  Sunday  school.  We  have  a 
beautiful  auditorium,  but  this  church  needs  larger  and 
better  rooms  for  our  work  with  our  boys  and  girls  and 
young  people.  I  believe  we  should  face  this  question  and 
furnish  in  the  near  future  an  adequate  educational  plant 
for  our  church.  This  will  cost  a  great  deal  of  money. 
I  have  been  thinking  of  ways  and  means  for  providing 
the  necessary  money.  There  are  two  things  that  are  clear 
to  me :  ( 1 )  I  believe  in  tithing.  I  believe  our  church 
should  introduce  tithing  as  our  method  of  financing  our 
work  both  locally  and  for  our  missionary  enterprises.  I 
believe  each  of  these  young  Christians  should  be  taught 
the  joy  of  partnership  with  God  in  money  matters.  If 
the  members  of  our  church  should  give  God  a  tenth  of 
their  income,  there  would  be  enough  money  to  build  our 
new  educational  plant,  equip  it,  and  provide  for  the  in- 
creased cost  of  maintenance.  (2)  Men  and  women  will 
give  money  more  quickly  and  in  larger  sums  for  work  for 
boys  and  girls  than  for  any  other  purpose.  I  am  sure 
that  if  we  continue  to  put  on  a  real  program  for  our 
youth  we  can  go  to  our  own  members  and  to  the  parents 


A  Religious  Education  Campaign  109 

of  the  children  and  secure  all  the  money  we  need  to  carry 
on  our  program.  I  believe  bigger  days  are  coming  for 
this  church.  I  believe  we  should  give  ever-increasing  at- 
tention to  our  young  people.  We  are  headed  in  the  right 
direction.     The  trustees  are  ready  to  do  their  part." 

It  was  evident  to  each  member  of  the  advisory  board 
that  the  church  was  facing  a  new  day,  with  new  interest, 
new  zeal,  new  resources,  and  a  larger  program. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you,"  said  the  pastor,  "  for  your 
hearty  cooperation  in  our  *  Campaign  of  Evangelism  of 
Youth.'  God  has  indeed  blessed  our  church.  I  want 
your  cooperation  in  some  follow-up  work.  With  your 
approval  and  with  your  help  I  want  to  center  our  work 
for  the  next  few  weeks  on  this  task.  '  Every  member 
of  every  family  a  member  of  our  church.'  We  want 
more  homes  united  in  Christ.  We  want  all  of  our  homes 
to  be  more  truly  Christian. 

"  I  have  prepared  a  complete  list  of  the  families  in  our 
church.  I  have  the  names  of  every  member  of  each 
family  who  is  not  now  a  member  of  the  church.  We  will 
pray  for  them  and  endeavor  to  win  them  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  What  advantage  would  there  be  in  a  local  church 
putting  on  for  Sunday  night  or  the  regular  midweek 
night  "  A  school  of  religious  education  "  ? 

2.  What  difficulties  can  you  see  in  the  adoption  of  such 
a  plan? 

3.  What  plans  do  you  know  for  securing  church  at- 
tendance of  young  people? 


110  Evangelism  of  Youth 


4.  In  your  own  church  what  adjustment  in  the  regular 
service  would  be  necessary  ? 

5.  Why  cannot  older  people  successfully  run  a  young 
people's  organization? 

6.  Think  of  your  woman's  society.  What  is  it  doing  for 
the  women  and  girls  of  the  church?  What  could  it 
do? 

7.  Think  of  the  men  in  your  church.  How  many  are  in 
official  position?  What  are  they  doing  for  boys? 
What  service  are  they  rendering  to  the  church  or  to 
the  community? 

8.  How  are  you  going  to  get  new  blood  and  young 
people  into  the  official  life  of  a  church  or  Sunday 
school  ? 

9.  What  changes  are  needed  to  make  your  church 
building  adapted  to  an  educational  program? 

10.  What  adjustment  is  needed  in  your  church  to  meet 
the  needs  of  young  people? 

REFERENCES 

"  The  Church  and  Its  Juniors,"  Brockway. 

"  Brothering  the  Boy,"  Raflfety. 

''  The  Girl  in  Her  Teens,"  Slattery. 

"  Emancipation  of  Youth,"  Roberts. 

"  Help  Those  Women,"  Agar. 

"  Efficient  Laymen,"  Cope. 

"  Planning  Church  Buildings,"  Tralle  and  Merrill. 

"  Church  Officers,"  Agar. 


CHAPTER  X 
RELIGION  IN  THE  HOME 

The  suggestion  of  the  pastor  that  the  church  interest 
itself  in  strengthening  home  Hfe  appealed  to  the  members. 
The  Home  Department  of  the  Sunday  school  was  revived, 
and  its  usefulness  greatly  enlarged.  It  sought  to  include 
for  definite  Bible  study  the  members  of  the  church  and 
congregation  who  by  reason  of  work,  age,  distance,  or 
sickness  were  unable  to  attend  the  regular  sessions  of  the 
school.  A  mother's  club  was  organized  for  the  mothers 
of  the  Cradle  Roll  babies.  This  organization  met  regu- 
larly and  studied  the  Christian  way  of  homemaking  and 
of  child  culture.  A  parent-teachers'  organization  was 
eflfected  so  that  there  could  be  a  closer  cooperation  be- 
tween the  home  and  the  Sunday  school,  and  between  the 
parents  and  the  teachers.  All  these  organizations  to- 
gether with  the  officers  of  the  church  arranged  for  "  A 
Christian  Home  Sunday,"  a  day  in  which  the  pastor 
should  present  a  special  message  to  the  people;  a  day 
in  which  emphasis  should  be  put  upon  the  entire  home 
united  in  Christ  and  in  his  church;  a  day  in  which  the 
family  altar  should  be  erected  in  every  Christian  home 
in  the  church. 

The  special  address  which  the  pastor  gave  and  which 
the  church  voted  to  have  printed  and  given  wide  publicity 
is  as  follows : 

"  The  greatest  agency  for  the  spread  of  Christianity 

111 


■J 


112  Evangelism  of  Youth 

is  the  Christian  home.  There  is  nothing  which  a  per- 
son can  do  for  Christ  which  will  count  for  more  than 
the  maintenance  of  a  truly  Christian  home.  There  is  no 
career  for  a  woman  so  important  as  that  of  Christian 
motherhood.  No  matter  how  much  outside  work  in 
church  or  community  a  man  may  do,  if  he  has  neglected 
to  bring  up  his  own  children  in  the  fear  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord  he  has  lost  out  in  the  biggest  thing  on  earth. 
What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  boys  ? 

"  Before  God  ever  brought  the  first  baby  into  the  world 
he  formed  the  home.  Children  do  not  thrive  well  in 
institutions.  Children  grow  best  in  homes  with  the  love 
of  parents  and  the  companionship  of  brothers  and  sisters. 
When  Jesus  came  to  be  the  World's  Saviour  he  was  born 
into  a  home,  with  the  love  of  Mary  and  the  care  of 
Joseph.  He  was  a  baby  in  a  mother's  arms  and  grew  up 
in  a  large  family  of  children.  The  first  public  miracle  of 
Jesus  was  in  a  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee.  I  used  to 
wonder  why  he  began  his  life's  work  under  such  circum- 
stances. I  know  now.  There  is  no  place  where  Jesus 
could  be  more  useful  or  have  a  greater  influence  than  in 
the  making  of  a  new  home.  What  a  wonderful  world  we 
would  have  if  Jesus  could  be  recognized  as  a  guest  and 
a  helper  in  the  making  of  every  new  home ! 

The  Influence  of  a  Christian  Home 

*'  From  the  Christian  home  radiate  helpful  influ- 
ences into  every  avenue  of  life.  As  when  a  child 
throws  a  stone  into  a  pond,  the  circle  of  waves  spreads 
until  they  reach  the  farthest  shore,  so  from  the  home 
as  a  center  there  spread  waves  of  influence  which  touch 


Religion  in  the  Home  113 

all  life.  If  this  home  is  Christian,  then  the  influences 
which  radiate  outward  are  Christian.  We  are  think- 
ing of  a  Christian  home,  one  in  which  both  husband 
and  wife  are  united  around  the  family  altar.  It  is 
most  unfortunate  when  a  father  or  mother  in  the  home 
is  not  a  Christian.  It  is  a  tragedy  when  neither  are 
believers.  In  this  Christian  home  we  have  the  hus- 
band and  wife  bound  by  the  ties  of  marriage,  united 
by  love,  in  the  most  intimate  and  beautiful  relation  on 
earth.  Because  Christ  dominates  the  life  we  find  the 
husband  loving  the  wife  as  his  own  self  and  the  wife 
reverencing  her  husband.  As  each  works  for  the  other 
and  both  for  God  there  can  be  no  unfaithfulness  of 
either,  nor  bitterness  nor  strife.  Where  Christ  truly 
abides  in  a  home  there  is  happiness,  love,  and  peace. 

"  Into  such  a  home  children  come  because  they  are 
wanted  and  are  loved,  and  cared  for  as  sacred  trusts 
from  God.  The  parents  bring  up  the  children  in  the 
reverence  and  love  of  God.  Children  learn  to  obey 
and  honor  their  fathers  and  mothers.  Here,  therefore, 
we  find  the  adult  learning  to  adjust  his  own  life  to  the 
growing  life  of  the  children.  We  have  children  learn- 
ing to  live  with  their  parents  and  with  one  another  in 
the  Christian  way.  There  is  a  Christian  way  of  living. 
In  the  home  this  way  is  sought  and  followed. 

"  Outside  of  the  family  circle  is  the  larger  circle  of 
relations — grandparents,  uncles  and  aunts,  nephews  and 
nieces,  and  all  the  cousins.  How  many  old  people's  lives 
have  been  saddened  because  their  children  and  grandchil- 
dren did  not  follow  the  Christian  way  of  dealing  with 
age.  How  many  little  children  have  lived  cramped 
and  embittered  lives  because  aged  people  have  lost 


114  Evangelism  of  Youth 

touch  and  sympathy  with  youth !  How  many  unhappy 
family  quarrels  have  come  from  dispute  over  a  piece 
of  property!  Blood  is  thicker  than  water.  The  ties 
of  kinship  and  affection  are  strong.  In  a  Christian 
home  the  rights  of  others  are  considered  and  relatives 
are  bound  together  in  the  Lord  by  ties  stronger  than 
those  of  blood. 

"  Then  there  are  the  neighbors.  We  do  not  live  in 
a  Robinson  Crusoe  world.  Even  he  lived  a  different 
life  after  Friday  and  the  cannibals  came.  We  live 
surrounded  by  other  people.  No  man  liveth  unto  him- 
self. Christian  homes  improve  the  neighborhood.  One 
does  not  need  to  wear  a  label  saying,  '  I  am  a  Christian.' 
If  a  man  is  a  Christian  his  neighbors  will  know.  Even 
the  neighbor's  dog  will  know  what  kind  of  a  Christian  he 
is.  In  the  morning  the  father  rises  early  and  goes  to  his 
day's  work.  As  he  leaves  his  house  he  walks  with  other 
men,  rides  on  the  cars  with  them  and  talks  of  the  news 
of  the  day.  He  goes  to  his  work  in  shop  or  store,  or 
office  or  field.  He  works  by  the  side  of  others.  He 
gives  of  his  skill  and  toil  in  some  field  of  service.  As  he 
walks  and  talks  and  works  he  carries  the  influence  of 
the  home  he  has  left,  and  the  whole  industrial  world  is 
shot  through  with  the  influence  of  that  Christian  home. 

"  After  father  has  gone  to  his  work  the  children  take 
their  books  and  start  for  school.  Every  child,  as  he  plays 
with  other  children  or  as  he  studies  in  the  schoolroom, 
advertises  his  home.  It  is  a  common  saying  among 
teachers,  *  We  know  the  kind  of  home  life  that  a  boy  has, 
by  the  way  he  acts  in  school'  As  the  children  thus  go 
to  school  they  go  as  representatives  of  their  homes.  Thus 
the  educational  world  is  affected  by  this  Christian  home. 


Religion  in  the  Home  115 

"  After  the  children  have  gone  to  school  the  mother 
takes  her  market-basket,  or  uses  the  telephone  to  buy  the 
daily  food  and  supplies  for  her  household  from  the 
butcher,  the  baker,  and  the  candlestick-maker.  As  she 
goes  into  the  markets  to  buy  she  represents  her  home. 
Every  tradesman  knows  the  kind  of  a  home  she  comes 
from.  She  does  not  wear  a  tag  saying,  '  I  belong  to  a 
church.'  Her  business  transactions  speak  louder  than 
words.  Thus  the  business  world  knows  the  power  and 
worth  of  the  Christian  home;  for  business  is  built  upon 
these  principles  of  cooperation,  faith,  honesty,  and  work 
which  are  cardinal  principles  of  the  Christian  religion. 

"  In  the  afternoon  the  mother  has  a  few  hours  to  her- 
self. She  goes  to  the  Ladies'  Aid,  to  the  Woman's  Club, 
to  an  entertainment,  to  the  home  of  a  friend,  or  friends 
come  to  her  home.  In  this  way  she  enters  the  social  world. 
Here  she  is  governed  by  the  ideas  and  principles  of  her 
home.  Her  attitude  of  mind  toward  other  people  and 
her  conduct  among  other  people  is  Christian.  In  this 
way  the  social  world  is  influenced  through  this  Christian 
home. 

'*  Evening  comes  and  the  family  is  together.  Much  is 
made  of  the  home  life,  the  story  hour,  the  family  ride  in 
the  auto,  or  something  which  all  can  do  as  a  family. 
Saturday  afternoons  and  holidays  give  leisure  hours  to 
the  head  of  the  house.  Recreation  is  necessary.  All 
work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy.  All  work  and 
no  recreation  wears  down  physical  resistance  and  makes 
invalids  and  uninteresting  people.  The  way  in  which 
people  use  their  leisure  hours,  the  kind  of  pleasures  they 
enjoy,  determine  largely  their  character.  Because  it  is  a 
Christian  home,  those  pleasures  are  enjoyed  which  keep 


116  Evangelism  of  Youth 


the  family  together  and  which  bring  lasting  joy.  In  this 
way  the  pleasure  life  of  the  community  is  affected  by  this 
Christian  home. 

"  Nor  is  this  all.  Election  day  comes.  Candidates  are 
to  be  chosen  at  the  primaries.  Officers  are  to  be  elected. 
Issues  are  to  be  decided  that  affect  the  health,  safety,  and 
happiness  of  the  home  and  the  community.  Because  they 
are  Christians,  the  husband  and  wife  go  to  the  polls  and 
register  their  convictions  and  their  choice.  Their  vote 
represents  careful  study  of  men  and  issues.  Thus  the 
politicians  realise  the-  power  of  a  Christian  home. 

"  Sunday  comes.  It  is  the  day  of  rest  and  worship,  a 
day  of  joy;  for  the  whole  family  is  together  for  the  day. 
Father  says,  '  Come,  children,  it  is  time  for  us  to  start 
for  church.'  He  does  not  say,  *  You  go  to  Sunday 
school,'  while  he  stays  at  home  reading,  lounging,  and 
grumbling.  After  the  Sunday  school  is  over  all  sit  to- 
gether and  worship  God,  join  in  the  singing  of  great 
hymns,  bow  before  God  in  prayer,  listen  to  eternal,  spirit- 
ual truths,  meet  and  greet  friends  and  neighbors,  and  then 
go  home  refreshed  in  soul.  The  church  and  all  the  re- 
ligious life  feels  the  strength  and  powers  of  this  Christian 
home, 

"  Pay-day  comes.  Because  the  man  is  in  partnership 
with  God,  part  of  the  money  belongs  to  his  partner.  He 
rejoices  in  the  privilege  of  giving  this  money  where  it  will 
do  good.  In  this  way  his  money  goes  where  he  cannot 
go  and  works  as  he  himself  could  not  work.  It  helps  to 
support  his  local  church,  it  helps  to  Christianize  his  own 
city  and  State  and  community.  It  helps  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  the  far-away  heathen  lands.  He  is  making 
eternal  friends  through  the  use  of  his  money.     Thus 


Religion  in  the  Home  117 

through  the  use  of  his  money  he  is  helping  to  make  other 
Christian  homes  all  over  the  world. 

"  There  is  one  thing  more.  This  Christian  home  be- 
lieves in  prayer  and  practises  communion  with  God. 
From  time  to  time  the  whole  family  bows  together  before 
God,  and  the  father  asks  the  heavenly  Father  to  provide, 
protect,  and  forgive  his  dear  ones.  He  prays  for  the 
ministers  and  missionaries  who  are  preaching  the  good 
news  of  salvation  through  Christ  to  all  peoples.  He 
prays  for  his  own  church  and  his  own  pastors.  Thus 
through  prayer  he  is  definitely  helping  his  own  life,  the 
lives  of  his  children,  the  workers  in  home  and  foreign 
lands,  his  own  church  and  pastors — all  the  interests  that 
are  dear  to  God.  ^3;  way  of  the  throne  of  God  he  is 
effective  in  the  spread  of  Christianity  all  through  the 
world. 

"  Children  who  have  the  privilege  of  such  a  home 
never  get  away  from  its  sacred  influences.  When  they 
leave  the  old  home  to  make  a  new  home  for  themselves 
they  carry  the  Christian  spirit  with  them  and  form  a  new 
home  which  is  Christian.  Thus  this  Christian  home  not 
only  is  the  center  of  world  life  influences  touching  every 
phase  of  life,  but  is  the  means  of  promoting  and  spread- 
ing similar  homes  wherever  the  children  go  to  make  their 
own  homes.  ^ 

"  We  need  more  Christian  homes.  We  need  that  all  of 
our  homes  should  be  more  truly  Christian.  *  The  problem 
of  the  child  in  the  church  is  first  and  foremost  the  prob- 
lem of  the  child  in  the  home.  The  home  should  be  the 
child's  first  church ;  the  father's  love  his  first  gospel ;  the  ^ 
mother's  love  his  first  altar.  The  home  is  the  primal 
religious    training-ground    of    the   young,    and    parents 


118  Evangelism  of  Youth 

should  find  in  the  church,  not  a  substitute  for  their  efforts, 
but  a  mighty  helper,'  The  home  is  the  natural  place  for 
the  finest  expression  of  Christian  living.  It  is  also  the 
best  place  for  definite  training  in  the  practise  of  living 
together  as  Christians.  Children  are  born  imitators. 
Hence  this  is  a  safe  rule  of  the  home,  '  Do  absolutely 
nothing  before  a  child  that  you  would  not  have  him  copy.' 
The  parents  in  the  home  must  live  daily  the  Christlike  life 
if  they  wish  their  children  to  develop  a  beautiful  Christ- 
like spirit.  The  child's  senses  respond  to  anything  that  is 
presented  to  him,  whether  good  or  bad,  true  or  false, 
wise  or  foolish.  There  is  only  one  safe  rule,  *  Let  noth- 
ing touch  his  senses  that  you  would  not  have  enter  per- 
manently into  his  life.'  The  furnishings  of  the  home 
and  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  home  teach  louder  than 
any  words.  The  following  are  some  practical  sugges- 
tions along  definite  lines  for  practise  in  the  home. 

Suggestions  for  Parents 

"Atmosphere  of  Reality.  God  and  the  spiritual  life 
must  be  real,  not  something  for  Sunday  or  special  occa- 
sions, but  for  every-day  living.  Religion  is  not  a  matter 
of  pious  phrases,  but  a  vital  factor  in  life.  Children  see 
through  shams,  but  they  respond  to  an  atmosphere  of 
reality.  The  parental  attitude  of  consistency  and  sin- 
cerity is  never  lost  upon  a  child. 

"  Rev-erence  for  Sacred  Things.  There  are  things  that 
are  sacred.  These  should  never  be  the  subject  of  jokes, 
of  foolish  talking,  or  of  open  criticism.  The  very  attitude 
of  the  body  and  the  tone  of  the  voice  should  show  rever- 
ence. When  we  pray  we  should  assume  the  reverent 
attitude  of  body  and  speak  quietly  and  with  feeling.     The 


Religion  in  the  Home  119 

Bible  is  a  sacred  book.  It  should  never  be  handled 
roughly  nor  covered  up  with  other  books  and  papers. 
The  church  is  sacred  to  the  presence  and  worship  of  God. 
Men  and  boys  should  never  enter  it  without  taking  off 
their  hats.  Children  should  never  run  in  it  as  a  play- 
room. There  are  other  things  such  as  baptism,  the  Lord's 
Supper,  marriage,  etc.,  which  should  be  treated  with  due 
reverence. 

"  Pichires.  Pictures  have  great  educational  value. 
The  pictures  on  the  wall  and  the  illustrations  that  the 
children  see  in  books,  magazines,  and  papers  all  teach. 
How  important  it  is  that  the  right  pictures  be  chosen 
for  the  living-room  and  the  nursery. 

"  Story-telling  and  Dramatisation.  Story-telling  is  the 
oldest  and  best  method  of  teaching  children.  Before 
printing  the  story-teller  was  the  historian  of  his  day. 
The  oldest  university  in  the  world  is  the  '  University  of 
Mother's  Knee.'  '  Tell  Me  a  Story '  is  the  cry  of  every 
child.  The  story-hour  around  the  fireplace  is  the  best 
hour  of  the  day  in  many  homes.  The  good-night  stories 
of  mothers  as  they  put  their  children  to  bed  is  the  golden 
hour  of  the  day  for  the  little  ones.  Bad  habits  can  be 
corrected  and  good  ones  installed  through  stories.  The 
finest  virtues  can  be  awakened  through  a  well-selected 
story.  Every  parent  should  be  a  story-teller.  Buy  a 
good  book  on  this  subject  and  learn  to  tell  stories.  Know 
the  wonderful  stories  of  the  Bible.  Have  some  good 
books  on  stories  for  children  in  your  library.  Then  after 
you  have  told  the  stories,  let  the  children  tell  them  back 
to  you  or  play  them  out  in  simple  dramatization. 

"  Music.  What  music  do  you  have  in  your  home  ? 
What  songs  do  you  sing  as  a  family  around  the  piano? 


120  Evangelism  of  Youth 

What  song  do  you  sing  to  the  children  when  you  put 
them  to  bed  ?  Does  your  piano,  your  victrola,  your  radio 
develop  the  religious  impulses  of  your  children?  Music 
appeals  to  the  emotions.  Here  is  your  chance  to  touch 
the  deepest  chords  of  one's  being  with  the  loftiest  themes. 

"  Reading.  What  do  you  read  in  your  home  ?  What 
magazines  and  papers  are  on  your  reading-table?  Is 
there  any  religious  paper  or  magazine  among  these? 
What  books  are  in  your  library  ?  Are  you  buying  books 
to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  your  children?  Have  they 
books  which  they  own,  read,  and  love?  Have  you  any 
modern  books  on  child  culture  ?  Have  you  any  books  that 
inform  you  as  to  the  religious,  physical,  and  social  crises 
in  the  life  of  your  children? 

"  Games  and  Recreation.  Do  you  have  games  together 
as  a  family?  Especially  do  you  try  to  do  something  to- 
gether as  a  family  Sunday  afternoons  and  evenings  so 
that  your  home  becomes  the  center  of  attraction  for  the 
entire  family?  Do  you  play  some  of  the  best  religious 
and  educational  games?  What  are  you  doing  to  make 
every  one  happy  in  the  home?  Are  your  children  being 
taught  to  play  together  with  others  in  the  Christian  way  ? 

"  Spending  Money.  Does  God  have  anything  to  say  to 
you  about  the  way  you  spend  your  money.  Does  he  re- 
ceive any  share  of  your  money  ?  Are  your  children  being 
taught  how  to  earn  and  how  to  save  and  how  to  spend? 
Do  you  do  all  the  giving  for  your  children  or  are  you 
teaching  them  to  give  to  the  church  for  missions  and  for 
others  ? 

"  Expressional  Activities.  What  chance  are  you  giv- 
ing your  children  to  express  their  religious  emotions 
through  some  definite  activity?    Do  they  ever  make  any- 


Religion  in  the  Home  121 

thing  for  somebody  in  need  or  some  lonely  one  or  some 
one  far  away?  Have  they  learned  through  cutting  and 
folding  paper  to  illustrate  the  truths  that  have  been 
taught?  Have  they  learned  as  a  group  to  choose  some 
worth-while  object  and  work  it  out  by  themselves?  Are 
your  children  being  taught  to  give  expression  in  some 
definite  manner  to  moral  and  religious  truths?  There  is 
a  law  of  life  that  we  love  the  person  or  object  that  we 
work  for.  If  this  be  true,  then  every  child  should  be 
taught  to  work  for  his  church,  his  home,  his  Saviour,  and 
for  others. 

"  Table  Talk.  What  do  you  talk  about  at  the  table? 
What  is  your  reaction  at  the  dinner-table  on  Sunday  to 
the  church  services?  Many  a  good  man  has  lost  his 
Christian  influence  in  his  own  home  by  thoughtless  criti- 
cism of  the  pastor,  the  church,  or  Christian  people  at  the 
Sunday  dinner-table.  Then  he  wonders  why  his  boys 
and  girls  do  not  love  the  church  or  Christ.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  love  deeply  and  criticize  at  the  same  time.  One 
never  likes  the  person  whom  he  has  mistreated.  The 
good  book  says,  *  Criticize  not  lest  ye  be  criticized,  for 
with  what  criticism  ye  criticize  ye  shall  be  criticized.' 

''Prayer  and  tJu  Children.  Every  child  should  hear 
his  father's  and  mother's  voice  in  prayer.  Every  child 
should  be  taught  to  pray  to  the  loving  heavenly  Father. 
As  often  as  possible  the  whole  family  should  kneel  to- 
gether in  family  prayer.  Surely  grace  should  be  asked  at 
every  meal.  In  these  busy  days  some  are  having  diffi- 
culty with  the  family  altar.  This  need  not  be.  There  is 
usually  one  meal  at  which  most  of  the  family  are  together. 
A  few  words  can  be  read  from  the  Book  or  a  few  verses 
repeated  by  the  family  from  memory  or  a  Bible  story 


i/ 


122  Evangelism  of  Youth 

may  be  told,  then  all  bow  or  kneel  in  a  short,  earnest 
prayer,  including  in  the  prayer  the  special  needs  of  the 
home  and  each  member  of  the  family.  There  is  a  value 
in  this  family  prayer  that  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way. 
It  should  be  faithfully  followed  in  every  Christian  home. 

"  Cooperation  with  the  Church.  The  church  can  do  its 
best  work  only  when  it  has  the  full  and  hearty  coopera- 
tion of  the  home.  Every  parent  should  see  that  assigned 
work  in  the  Sunday  school  is  performed;  that  prompt 
regular  and  faithful  attendance  upon  the  services  of  the 
church  is  the  habit  of  each  child.  The  home  and  the 
church  should  work  together  in  the  Christian  development 
of  children  and  young  people. 

"Parental  Understanding  of  the  Crises  of  Youth. 
Every  parent  should  know  the  physical  laws  of  develop- 
ment of  the  children.  They  should  especially  prepare 
them  by  wise,  loving,  and  reverent  teaching  for  that 
period  in  adolescence  when  they  come  into  full  posses- 
sion of  their  sex  powers.  This  must  be  done  by  the 
parents  very  early.  As  well  expect  a  child  to  cross  un- 
harmed a  crowded  street  of  a  great  city  blindfolded  as 
to  expect  a  young  man  to  enter  safely  into  life,  ignorant 
of  the  great  laws  of  his  own  physical  being.  There  comes 
a  time  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  sixteen  when  much 
attention  must  be  given  to  the  physical  so  that  the  young 
man  may  have  a  strong,  clean  body.  Right  habits  of 
body,  proper  food,  sufficient  rest,  suitable  recreation,  self- 
control  ;  these  are  things  which  parents  must  not  neglect. 

**  Every  parent  should  know  and  anticipate  the  period 
of  social  awakening  and  expansion  which  comes  in  the 
middle  teens.  The  young  people  need  to  be  taught  the 
Christian  way  of  living  together  and  of  having  a  good 


Religion  in  the  Home  123 

time.  Pleasure  is  a  God-given  capacity.  Young  people 
must  have  good  times  together.  The  home  should  pro- 
vide this. 

"  Every  parent  should  be»interested  in  the  education  of 
their  children  and  in  their  vocational  choices.  With  a 
little  encouragement  a  boy  would  not  drop  out  of  school, 
but  go  on  to  something  better.  Every  parent  should 
v^ork  carefully  v^ith  his  boy  or  girl  in  helping  to  choose 
and  to  prepare  for  '  Life  Service.' 

"  Every  parent  should  know  the  spiritual  development 
of  life.  These  have  been  indicated  in  the  discussion  '  Sea- 
sons of  the  Soul.'  Youth  is  the  time  when  God  is  work- 
ing to  develop  life.  In  the  habit-forming  period  of  life 
God  waflts  our  boys  and  girls  to  form  physical  habits 
that  are  Christian,  learn  to  live  together  in  a  Christian 
way  and  develop  habits  and  attitude  of  mind  that  are  truly 
Christian.  This  produces  strong,  positive,  Christian  char- 
acter. 

"  A  mother  once  said  to  me :  *  We  have  to  take  our 
pains  at  one  end  or  the  other.  If  we  take  it  when  the  chil- 
dren are  young,  they  will  grow  up  to  be  a  credit  to  us, 
and  we  can  take  pride  and  comfort  with  them.  If  we 
neglect  them  in  their  youth  and  have  our  good  times  with- 
out thought  of  them  we  can  take  our  pains  later  in  dis- 
appointment, shame,  and  even  sorrow.  For  one  I  prefer 
to  take  my  pains  when  the  children  are  little.'  Train  up 
a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  s/' 
not  depart  from  it. 

The  Story  of  One  Christian  Home 

"  Seventy-seven  years  ago  a  boy  was  bom  in  a  farmer 
home  in  the  hills  of  Otsego  County,  New  York.    It  was 


124  Evangelism  of  Youth 

soon  evident  that  he  was  handicapped.  He  was  not  so 
strong  as  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  when  he  started  to 
school  he  had  frequent  attacks  of  severe  headache.  Prob- 
ably he  needed  glasses,  but  they  did  not  think  of  such 
things  in  those  days.  To  his  great  disappointment  he 
could  not  go  to  school  beyond  the  little,  red  district  school 
of  his  neighborhood.  He  had  a  secret  longing  to  be  a 
minister,  but  knew  that  this  was  impossible.  So  he 
worked  on  the  farm.  There  was  another  handicap  to  his 
secret  ambition.     He  stammered. 

"  When  he  was  thirteen  years  old  he  was  converted 
and  joined  the  Baptist  church.  Every  convert  was  ex- 
pected to  testify.  He  believed  it  his  duty  to  bear  wit- 
ness. So  he  tried.  Sometimes  he  would  stand  up  to 
give  his  testimony  and  not  be  able  to  say  a  word,  but  he 
soon  discovered  a  wonderful  thing.  Though  he  could 
not  talk  with  men,  he  could  talk  with  God:  for  when  he 
prayed,  his  tongue  was  unloosed.  Because  he  was  denied 
the  privilege  of  talking  easily  with  men,  he  learned  to  talk 
with  God.  When  he  would  try  to  give  a  testimony  and 
could  not,  he  would  kneel  and  pour  out  his  heart  to  God 
in  prayer.  Thus  he  developed  a  marvelous  prayer  life. 
He  was  asked  frequently  to  pray  in  public,  at  funerals,  at 
associations,  and  in  community  gatherings.  When  he 
rose  and  shut  his  eyes,  he  was  in  the  presence  of  his 
Father  to  whom  he  talked  as  lovingly  and  simply  as  a 
child.  His  own  brother  became  a  professor  in  Cornell 
University,  and  in  later  years  said :  *  I  would  rather  hear 
him  pray  than  any  man  I  have  ever  heard.  It  makes  me 
feel  that  our  heavenly  Father  is  very  real  to  hear  his 
appeals,  his  confidence,  and  trust.* 

"  When  he  was  twenty-four  he  met  and  married  a 


Religion  in  the  Home  125 

beautiful  Christian  girl  in  his  own  church.  Together  they 
started  a  Christian  home  around  the  open  Bible.  The 
children  came;  five  strong,  healthy  little  ones.  When 
Sunday  came  they  took  turns  about  in  going  to  church. 
Then  a  terrible  scourge  of  diphtheria  passed  through  that 
community,  and  when  it  had  passed  the  home  was  empty. 
No  more  the  song  and  laughter  of  little  voices.  In  one 
brief  month  all  the  children  had  gone  to  be  with  their 
Saviour.  These  good  Christians  did  not  lose  their  faith, 
nor  cease  their  prayer  life.  A  great  revival  broke  out  in 
the  schoolhouse.  Religion  and  the  winning  of  others  to 
Christ  became  their  solace.  In  direct  answer  to  prayer 
as  they  firmly  believed  God  gave  them  the  promise  of 
another  little  one.  At  the  child's  birth  their  joy  was 
doubled  for  there  was  a  hoy  end  a. girl;  twins.  The  proud 
father  said,  *  God  always  answers  better  than  we  ask.* 

"  The  boy  went  to  district  school  and  later  to  high 
school.  His  father  was  his  closest  chum  and  friend. 
They  talked  and  planned  for  college  almost  from  the 
boy's  earliest  remembrance.  Each  Sunday  found  them  in 
God's  house  for  worship  and  for  Sunday  school.  Every 
day  at  the  family  altar  the  mother  read  from  the  Bible 
and  the  father  prayed  for  their  church  and  for  their 
pastor,  for  more  ministers  and  missionaries  and  for  the 
extension  of  Christ's  kingdom^  in  earth's  uttermost 
bounds.  He  graduated  from  high  school  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.  One  day  soon  after,  he  told  his  father  as 
they  were  doing  chores  in  the  barn,  that  he  had  heard  God 
call  him  into  the  Christian  ministry.  The  father  said :  *  I 
am  not  surprised.  I  want  to  tell  you  something  that  I 
never  told  any  one  before.  I  wanted  to  be  a  minister,  but 
I  knew  I  could  not  with  my  old  stammering  tongue.     I 


126  Evangelism  of  Youth 

hoped  that  one  of  your  older  brothers  would,  but  God 
took  them.  I  gave  you  to  the  Lord  before  you  were  born, 
and  there  has  not  been  a  day  since  that  I  have  not  prayed 
that  God  would  call  you  to  serve  him.' 

"  The  boy  went  to  college  and  to  theological  seminary. 
The  memory  of  his  home  and  the  prayers  of  his  parents 
followed  him  and  helped  him.  In  the  spring  term  of  his 
senior  year  in  the  seminary  there  came  the  call  of  need 
in  the  foreign  field.  He  became  a  Student  Volunteer 
and  applied  to  the  Foreign  Board  and  was  accepted  as 
a  missionary  for  Southern  India.  His  father  and  mother 
gave  him  their  blessing  and  approval.  He  went  to  his 
boyhood  church  to  be  ordained.  His  father,  though  he 
was  only  a  layman  in  the  church,  was  asked  to  give  the 
ordaining  prayer.  This  is  his  prayer  as  he  laid  his  hands 
upon  the  lad's  head : 

O  God,  thou  didst  have  but  one  Son. 

Thou  didst  give  him  to  be  our  Saviour. 

We  give  to  Thee  this,  our  only  son. 

Take  him,  send  him  anywhere  thou  wilt, 

Only  make  him  a  winner  of  souls. 

Oh,  make  him  a  winner  of  many,  many  precious  souls. 

"  The  lad's  way  was  blocked  to  the  foreign  field.  He 
became  a  pastor  in  the  homeland.  When  the  father 
had  reached  his  seventieth  birthday  he  wrote  this  letter 
to  his  preacher  boy : 

We  do  pray  for  you  that  you  may  be»the  means  in  God's  hands 
of  winning  many  souls  for  him.  You  and  your  work  have  been 
on  my  mind  a  good  deal  the  past  week.  God  has  been  good  to 
me  to  let  me  live  the  threescore  and  ten  years.  I  feel  that  God  is 
letting  me  live  to  pray  for  the  upbuilding  of  his  cause  and  for 
our  dear  ones  that  they  may  be  soul-winners  for  Christ.    I  want 


Religion  in  the  Home  127 

to  be  more  faithful  in  his  cause  as  the  days  go  by.  I  wake  up 
in  the  night  and  pray  for  you.  God  does  hear  all  true  prayer 
and  gives  answers  of  peace  and  love. 

We  went  to  church  and  Sunday  school  today.  The  pastor 
preached  a  good  sermon. 

How  I  would  like  to  be  with  you  for  a  few  days  to  help  in 
those  extra  meetings.  Well,  if  we  cannot  be  there  in  body  we 
can  in  spirit.    We  do  love  you  all  very  much. 

Good-bye, 

From  your  loving  father, 


"  Today  that  man  is  still  praying  for  the  extension  of 
Christ's  kingdom.  He  has  been  praying  for  this  special 
campaign  in  our  church. 

'^  I  am  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  because  that  m>an  is 
my  father/' 

TOPICS  FOR  DISCUSSION 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  causes  for  the  decay  of  home 
life.? 

2.  Why  is  it  more  difficult  to  conduct  family  v^^orship  to- 
day than  for  our  fathers? 

3.  Why  should  father  and  mother  vi^ork  together  in  bring- 
ing up  children  ? 

4.  Can  the  church  take  the  place  of  the  parents  in  Chris- 
tian nurture  ?     Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

5.  What,  as  you  see  it,  is  the  effect  of  the  automobile 
upon  the  social  life  of  young  people? 

6.  How  can  a  home  be  the  social  center  for  a  group  of 
young  people  ? 

7.  As  you  think  of  it  now,  what  was  the  greatest  con- 
tribution of  your  parents  to  you? 


128  Evangelism  of  Youth 

REFERENCES 

"  The  Training  of  Children  in  the  Christian  Family," 
Weigle. 

"The  Use  of  the  Story  in  Religious  Education," 
Eggleston. 

"  Mother's  Problems,"  Clark. 

"  Religious  Education  in  the  Family,"  Cope. 

*'  The  Mother-Teacher  of  Religion,"  Betts. 

"  Child  Nature  and  Child  Nurture,"  St.  John. 

"  Brothering  the  Boy,"  Raflfety. 

"  Pictures  in  Religious  Education,"  Beard. 

"  Parents  and  Their  Children,"  Moxcey. 


Princeton  Theological  Semina7  Libraries 


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Date  Due 


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Evangelism 
of  youth. 


M^ 


